


Love is never easy (but wouldn't it be great if it was?)

by apolloxbvcky



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Bisexual Zuko (Avatar), F/F, F/M, How Do I Tag, M/M, Minor Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar), Protective Zuko (Avatar), Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love, Zuko (Avatar)-centric, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:00:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 21,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27480859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apolloxbvcky/pseuds/apolloxbvcky
Summary: Zuko and Sokka had a one night stand. Then they parted ways. Zuko hasn't stopped thinking about it, so when Sokka comes back, he's excited. Then, he drops the news: he's dating Suki, again.And Zuko has never been good at managing his own feelings.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Bato/Hakoda (Avatar), Jin/Zuko (Avatar), Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 27
Kudos: 191





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> VERY vaguely based on the 'i know we were never officially together or anything but seeing that picture you posted on [insert social media] with him/her literally felt like you carved my heart out of my chest and stomped on it and i’m not really sure why i’m leaving this voicemail but my pillow still smells like you and i miss your stupid face' prompt from this post on tumblr: https://thedreamvevowritingprompts.tumblr.com/post/132518177311/post-breakup-aus

It’s been around five years since the war ended and Zuko was crowned Fire Lord, and a lot has happened since. For instance, he got his sister Azula into a mental institution (which she later scaped from, but that’s not the point); he fixed the problems with the Earth Kingdom colonies; he found his mother, getting a new sister along the way – and she was a firebender, too, which helped him convince his mother to move back to the palace, where he could get her the best trainer she could ask for: himself.

It’s also been a while since he saw his friends from the other nations. Apart from Suki, who had been head of security in his palace since he hired the Kyoshi Warriors to be their guards after his coronation, he hadn’t seen Aang, Toph, Katara, or Sokka in months. The last time they all were together was for the anniversary of his crowning, and he barely got to see them, as he had been pestered all night long by his councilmen and ambassadors of the other nations.

But that was months ago. Right now, he’s swamped in paperwork: new laws, decrees, letters from the other nation’s leaders… There are at least four different divisions of scrolls on his desk. Luckily enough, he’s not alone; his dear friend Mai helping him go through some of the documents, giving him her advice as his Prime Advisor.

There’s a knock on the door that Zuko barely notices, so it’s Mai the one who gives the person on the other side the permission to get in. Ty Lee, still with her Kyoshi gear on, waltzes inside the room with her usual big smile.

“Hi. My shift is over, but I wanted to say good night.” She explains, hugging Mai from behind when she reaches her chair. Mai gives her a small smile, like she tends to. “How’s everything going? Will you be done soon? I can wait for you, if you want.”

“I think we still have a few hours of work. You go to bed. You’ve had a long shift today.” Ty Lee nods, then looks at Zuko, who’s frowning at the scroll in his hands. “Your Majesty.” She calls for him. Zuko lifts his head to look at her.

“Ty Lee! When did you…” he says, looking at the door, then at her. Mai rolls her eyes and Ty Lee giggles softly.

“Don’t worry about it. I just wanted you to know a messenger hawk arrived this morning. Suki will be back soon with the new recruits.” She says, her head resting on top of Mai’s, as she massages her girlfriend’s shoulders.

Suki, head of the Kyoshi Warriors, had left for Kyoshi Island two months prior, to find new girls who wanted to join them and give them basic training before bringing them to the Fire Nation palace to join Zuko’s guard. Since then, Ty Lee had stepped up as leader in the palace, and she had done a wonderful job, according to Zuko.

“That’s wonderful, Ty Lee, thank you.” he answers, nodding at her. “I hope stepping into her place for this month was not too hard on you.” he says. Ty Lee shakes her head.

“It was great having people follow my orders. Maybe I should dethrone you. I’m one of the few who know the secret passage inside your chambers, after all.” Zuko doesn’t reply, instead looking at her with his eyebrows knitted together. Ty Lee, still smiling, giggles and breaks away from Mai. “I’m going to bed now if you’re still working. Don’t go to bed too late, okay guys?” she says, walking to the door and leaving the room after she waves them good-bye.

Zuko looks at the raven-haired girl beside him. “Do you want to go with her? I can wrap up on my own if you want to.”

“No, I’d rather keep an eye on you. Make sure you _actually_ go to bed, instead of pulling an all-nighter.” The girl says, not looking away from the scroll in her hands. Zuko knows she’s tired, her eyes are red from all the reading with just a pair of lamps to light up the room, and the bags under her eyes are almost as purple as his own.

“Mai, you don’t need to worry about that. I promise I’ll go to bed.”

Mai snorts. She still doesn’t tear her sight from the scroll. “Zuko, I love you, but I spent too many nights alone in our bed to know that’s bullshit. Now finish reading that treaty proposal and let’s go to bed.”

Zuko stares at her for a few seconds, then shakes his head and looks at the scroll in his hands, trying to figure out what it says through his clouded sight.

Suki and the new Kyoshi Warriors arrive to the palace a week later. Ty Lee goes to find Zuko at his office.

“Zuko!” she yells, excited. Then, she clears her throat. “I mean, Your Majesty. The airship from Kyoshi Island is here.”

Zuko smiles, and nods as he stands up, walking towards her. “You know there’s no need for formality when no one else is around, Ty Lee. We used to play hide and seek together, remember?”

Ty Lee smiles, nostalgic, as they walk side by side towards the patio where the airship is landing. Mai is already there with the rest of the Kyoshi Warriors and guards.

“Good morning, Fire Lord.” She greets him when he reaches her position.

“Good morning, Fire Ex-Girlfriend.” Zuko smirks, earning himself a snort from Ty Lee and a roll of Mai’s eyes.

The airship’s slipway comes down, and Suki is the first one to get off it.

Zuko doesn’t know exactly how, but Suki is the only Kyoshi Warrior that he always has been able to identify first (bar Ty Lee, whose braid is a dead giveaway). Maybe it’s the color of her eyes, so uncommonly blue on the Earth Kingdom or the Fire Nation, or the shape of her face. Maybe it’s the fact that, again excluding Ty Lee, she’s the one he’s known for the longest time. They did fight a war together, after all. Or maybe it’s the way she walks, like she owns every place she places a foot on. Zuko wishes, sometimes, that he was able to do that, instead of walking into his meetings with his knees almost giving up most times.

Maybe he really should sleep more.

Suki keeps her walk steady, coming to a halt when she’s right in front of him. “Your Majesty.” She bows. Zuko smiles. Anyone who knows Zuko and Suki’s relationship knows she wouldn’t bow before him if it weren’t for the new recruits following her.

“Head Warrior Suki. Welcome back.” He says, smiling at his friend. “I see you’ve brought a few new recruits.” The girl moves to her left, letting Zuko look at the girls that would form the new batch of Kyoshi Warriors. He clears his throat. “Welcome to the Fire Nation,” he starts, looking at the girls one by one. “and to the Royal Guard. From now on, as your leader has surely already informed you of, you are part of my personal guard. That does not mean I’m the boss of you: every and each of my decisions have to be approved by Suki first, and hers by me. You will be trained by your sisters on your fighting techniques and your chi blocking before you get to actually work. Things in the palace work different than in Kyoshi Island, but I am sure you’re all talented enough to keep up with the rest of the warriors. All said, I hope you enjoy your stay with us.” He finishes, and the girls salute him. Suki lifts a hand to make them drop their pose, and Zuko is about to turn back to get inside the palace again when, from the corner of his right eye, he sees a flash of blue.

Frowning, he squints towards the airship, seeing Sokka climbing down the slipway with a bag bigger than him on his hands. “So many trained soldiers and none of them will give a hand to me. That’s just great!” he can hear him complain.

Zuko’s frown turns into a smile, following his friend’s silhouette, and he has to stop himself from running towards him and jumping at him no matter how much his hands itch to feel his best friend’s warm skin under his again.

“I forgot to mention.” Suki says, rolling her eyes. “Sokka’s here too. I’ll let you guys to it.” she turns to look at her second in command. “Ty Lee, let’s show our sisters around the palace.”

All the girls, except Mai, who stays on his right, as always, leave. The last of them are entering the building when Sokka finally stops in front of them.

“Sokka. What a surprise.” Zuko says. Sokka pants, dropping his bag on the floor.

“I know. That was kind of the idea.” He says, still trying to recover his breath. When he finally does, he throws his arms around Zuko. “I missed you, buddy.” He whispers to his ear. Zuko blushes a little, slowly surrounding Sokka with his arms.

When they break apart, Sokka goes to hug Mai, who raises both her eyebrows. Sokka sighs. “Fine. No hugs. I see you’re still the same.” He shrugs. “I missed you too, anyway.”

Mai scoffs, turning back to get inside the palace. Zuko and Sokka follow her with their eyes until she has disappeared down the hallways.

Zuko turns to look at his friend. “I missed you too.” He says. Sokka shoves his shoulder.

“I know, I know…” he eyes his bag on the floor. “Uh, you think maybe…?”

Zuko rolls his eyes, calling up one of his guards to take Sokka’s bag towards the guest room.

“So, how come you’re here?” he asks once they’re walking through the hallway to Sokka’s guest room, their shoulders bumping together.

“I was with Aang and Katara on Kyoshi Island, you know, Avatar business, when we heard Suki was there too. We went to visit her, and she told me she was coming back here this week, so I decided to tag along.” He shrugs. “It’s been a long time since we saw each other, and I wasn’t sure if I could handle Aang and Katara’s oogieness for much longer.”

Zuko shakes his head, laughing. An impromptu ride to the Fire Nation just to scape his sister and boyfriend was one of the most Sokka things he had ever heard of. “I’m glad you’re here,” he says. “but I wish you had told me. I would’ve made sure to clear up my schedule so we could spend some time together.”

“Or I can help you and Mai sort some things out! You know, it’s my duty to learn how to resolve those kinds of problems, as the future Chief of the Southern Water Tribe. I’ve already started my training, you know?” he smiles, proudly. Zuko smiles softly.

“That’s really great, Sokka.” He clasps a hand on his shoulder. “I get you’re liking it?”

“Well, it’s mostly laws and traditions I have to know like the palm of my hand before I get the position, but my dad is a stubborn son of a bitch and he won’t give it up until he’s six feet under, so I guess I have a lot of time before I do.” He shrugs.

Zuko shoves Sokka. “You just called your grandmother a bitch. I hope you’re proud.”

Sokka shoves him back, gaining the attention of the guard behind them. Zuko lifts his hand, assuring her nothing’s wrong. Clearly, she’s a new addition, otherwise, she’d know by now the dynamics of Sokka and Zuko’s relationships. There wasn’t a lot of people Zuko liked to be very tactile with, in fact, he was sure he could count them with the fingers in one hand; but with Sokka, it had always come in naturally. He felt comfortable enough around him to know that Sokka would never hurt him. At leat, not willingly. He had had a lot of trouble controlling his strength when he had started gaining muscle, leaving behind the scrawny kid Zuko used to chase around when he was after the Avatar.

When they reach Sokka’s room, Zuko stops on the door. “I wish I could stay longer, but I have to go, Sokka.” He says. “I’m terribly sorry, but Mai and I have a meeting soon and...”

“Yeah, I know what your life is like. It’s okay, I’ll unpack and all that. Maybe Suki and Ty Lee can keep me company when they’re done with the girls. She said she didn’t want to overwhelm them today, after the long trip. And if they don’t, I’ll find something to do. I always do, you know me. I’m the plan guy.”

Zuko nods and lets Sokka hug him goodbye. “I’ll make sure I’m done before dinner so we can eat together, okay?”

“Sure. See you later, Your Majesty.” Sokka winks at him.

Zuko smiles, nodding at him, and walks back to his office, where Mai is already sitting on his desk, going through a new scroll.

“Did you know?” Zuko asks, closing the door behind him.

“Why would I? It’s not like _I’m_ his best friend.” She answers, looking at her with one eyebrow raised.

Zuko rolls his eyes and drags a chair towards the side of his desk. “What are we working on?” he asks, rolling his sleeves up as she shows him the scroll in her hands.

Zuko keeps his promise, and they all have dinner together. The official dining room always felt too cold for him, reminding him of the horrid ‘family dinners’ he would have as a child; so when he became Fire Lord, he changed the personal dining room to another one, much smaller than the official, which he only kept for business related dinners or lunches. The smaller one, on the other hand, he often used to have dinner with his mother and her family, or with Mai, Ty Lee and Suki, when they all had time for it. Or, in situations like these ones, when his friends came by to visit.

The five of them sit around the table, their steaming plates of fire noodles in front of them. Sokka had already burnt his tongue twice, always too impatient to wait for his food to cool down. Suki, now out of her Kyoshi gear and with no make-up on, stares at him in disbelief, a glass of cold water in her hand for him. Once Sokka has downed the burning food and drank the water, he sighs and winks at Suki.

“Thanks, babe.” He says. Suki widens his eyes at the endearing term, and Zuko drops his bowl. Thankfully, Mai and Ty Lee’s eyes are too busy on Suki and Sokka, the first of which is blushing as the other looks at her, his face showing how guilty he feels.

Zuko is recovering his bowl from the floor, discreetly cleaning the contents off it with his napkin, when Ty Lee breaks the silence.

“Babe?” she simply asks. Suki clears her throat, smoothing her top with her hands.

“Yeah, we uh… we’re back together.” she says. “But we going to wait until we told you guys.” She is throwing knives through her eyes to Sokka, who gulps.

“It slipped out!” he squeaks. “You know how I am with PDA!”

Ty Lee lets out a yell and grabs Suki’s hands. “I knew you guys would get back together. Your auras are meant to be together, believe me. They complete each other!” Sokka chuckles and elbows Suki’s side, who is looking at Ty Lee with a blushed face.

“Hear that, Su? Our auras complete each other.” He says, smiling smugly.

Suki blushes harder, hiding her face behind her hand. “Shut up, Sokka.”

Zuko stares at the exchange, not saying a word, his empty bowl back in the table and his hands turned into fists under it. He can feel Mai’s eyes boring into his skull, but he ignores her. Now is not the time.

On the solitude of his bed, once everyone has left towards their own rooms, Zuko reminisces the events of the night.

Last time he had seen Sokka, things had gone on a very different path:

He had had a tiny (almost unnoticeable) crush on his friend when they were younger, before he was the Fire Lord, when they would camp together with the rest of their friends in the Western Air Temple, but he dropped any hopes he might’ve had when they rescued Suki from the Boiling Rock prison, and he had seen them look at each other. It was clear how much they loved each other. And Mai was there, too, and she had saved their lives even after he had broken his heart, which had made him think a lot about her, his feelings for Sokka getting lost in the back of his mind. Plus, he didn’t want to get between two people who loved each other as much as Suki and Sokka did. And after he was crowned, and he got back with Mai, he didn’t even see Sokka that much. It wasn’t that big of a deal.

But that day six months ago… Sokka had grown up a lot. Zuko figured he had, too, but it had been so long since Sokka and him had seen each other, it struck him right in the chest. He had gotten a tattoo on his right arm and another one on his chest, he was taller, bulgier, his hair was longer, and he was starting to lose his baby fat, giving way to sharp cheekbones and jaw. By then, Zuko and Mai had been broken up for months, she was already dating Ty Lee, and he found out Sokka and Suki had broken up, too. it was obvious, by the way they had been trying to not to run into each other the whole night.

The short time the whole group spent together, Zuko spent looking at Sokka. He couldn’t help it, he was hypnotized by the way his lips moved, how he licked them before he talked, and the way his eyes scrunched up when he laughed at Toph’s jokes. If he hadn’t been the Fire Lord, making him have all eyes on the room on him at all times, he was sure he would have taken him by the arm and dragged him all the way to his room.

It was a good thing that he came on his own foot after the party, then.

Sokka and him were best friends. They had been for years now. So, after the party, Sokka appeared in his room. He was obviously drunk, and he kept giggling at everything. Zuko wasn’t sober either, but he was better at hiding it. Still, he kept smiling dumbly at his friend as he listened to him ranting about something that had happened to him a few weeks back in the Water Tribe.

Somehow, Sokka found even more liquor, and they started drinking again. And somehow, Zuko found himself with a lapful of Sokka, their tongues tangling together, his hands on each other’s hair, and their clothes thrown around the room. And Zuko might had been drunk as hell, but he remembered every touch, every kiss, every thrust, and every second of their night together, up until he fell asleep on Sokka’s tattooed chest, with his friend’s fingers running through his dark hair.

The morning later, sadly, he had had to leave for an early meeting, leaving the warmth of the other body lying on the bed, closing the curtains so he wouldn’t be bothered. He kissed his cheek goodbye, and left to Mai’s room, where she was already expecting him.

“You’re late.” She states. Zuko scoffs.

“Just two minutes.”

“You’re never a second late. Are you hungover?” Zuko smiles, glancing back towards his bedroom.

“Yeah. Actually, I am.”

When he came back to his room, Sokka had left. The few days after that, he had been swam up with complaints from his citizens, letters from the Water Tribe leaders to approve their new fishing routes, now that there was no harm of a Fire Nation ship kidnapping or killing them, and more and more laws that Mai needed him to go over and approve. When he ran into Suki a few days later and she informed him their friends had had to leave fix an emergency on Cranefish Town, Zuko’s heart dropped a little. He wished he could have, at least, said goodbye to them.

He kept thinking about that night for weeks. His pillow and sheets still smelled like him, like the ocean, so undoubtedly Sokka, all he could do was take the smell in and imagine his friend wasn’t miles away from him. All he could think about was what he would do next time he saw Sokka. Would they talk about? Did Sokka even remember it? Would they do it again? Agni, Zuko wanted to do it again. Did Sokka think it was a bad idea? What if they did it again… more than once? As a regular thing? Like… couples do?

After a few months, he let it go. Sokka and him weren’t seeing each other in the foreseeable future, and if they did, it would be on official business anyway. Sooner rather than later, he didn’t even have time to focus on anything that wasn’t work.

And then, tonight. Suki and Sokka were back together, because they obviously were; because they were soulmates, and Zuko knew that. He threw away his shot months ago, and all he could think about was how bad he had fucked it up. If only he had skipped that meeting, he might have had a short but nice relationship with Sokka, before he got tired of him, or he realized he loved Suki much more than he loved him, or the council made him marry a woman so he could have legacy, or all of the above.

Running his hands through his hair (when had it gotten so long? It reached his shoulders now), he sighed. Agni, he was the Fire Lord. He couldn’t stay there, in bed, glooming about his unrequited crush of years on his best friend. He had a nation to lead! He stood up, walking to his desk, lighting a candle and sitting to read the scroll on top of his ‘to do’ pile.

He was reaching the end of it when he heard a knock on the door. “Come in.” he said, softly. Mai appeared behind the door and rolled her eyes at him when she saw him in the desk.

“You’re kidding, right? It’s way past midnight, Zuko.”

“Well, the world isn’t going to fix itself over night, Mai.”

“You need to stop throwing yourself on your job whenever you’re upset.” She said, approaching him, and sitting on the arm of his chair, brushing the hair out of his face with her fingers.

“I’m not upset.” He defended himself, still looking at the scroll. She took it out of his hands, rolled it again, and put it back on the pile on his right.

“I know Suki and Sokka coming back together upset you, Zuko.I know you’ve been crushing on him ever since that night, if not before. We’re friends. We’ve known each other since we were kids, I know you as good as you know me. And we can talk about it. Me being your Prime Advisor means I’m here to give you advice on _everything_. Whether you pay me or not.”

“I know. But there’s no advice to be given, Mai. They’re back together, like they should. You heard Ty Lee, they’re meant for each other. I’m happy for them; I know they love each other. I’ll get over it, like I did last time. Thank you for your concern, but I’m okay.”

Mai lets out a long sigh. “Okay. But I’m spending the night here, just so you know. Ty Lee has a night shift, I’m cold, and even if you try to deny it, you’re miserable.”

Zuko nods. “Okay. Let’s get in bed, then.” 

“Straighter.” Zuko demands, his arms crossed on his chest, walking around the kid. “Straighter.” He repeats, then sighs. “Straighter!”

“How much straighter can I be?” Kiyi yells, exasperated. Zuko chokes a laugh at the phrasing, shaking his head as he bows down to look at his sister’s eyes.

“Straighter.” He repeats. The little girl groans, straightening her back and lifting her chin so she’s looking up. Zuko puts a hand on each of her arms and pushes down. “Good. You’re getting stronger. Mum will be proud.” He ruffles her hair, making it fall on her face. She blows it out. “Put your head down, Kiyi. Your opponent will be in front of you, not in the air.”

“What if my opponent can fly?” she asks. Zuko chuckles.

“Are you planning on fighting Momo?” Kiyi shakes her head, looking at her brother. “Well, good, because he’d kick your butt.”

“That’s not true!” she complains, making her brother laugh.

“Okay, okay. You’d kick his butt. All jokes aside, though, your pose needs to be a lot straighter. Control of your body is key to firebending, okay?” Kiyi nods, standing as straight as she can. Zuko smiles. “Great. How is your breathing going?” he says, pressing a hand on her stomach. “Can you reach this point?” Kiyi takes a deep breath, face going red in the process. Zuko laughs. “Okay, okay, you can do it. Well done, Kiyi.” He holds his hand out for her to high five him, which she does with a giggle. “Our lesson is done for today. We’ll continue in two days, okay? And don’t fall asleep this time.”

“I’ll try to!” she says, crossing her arms on his chest.

“Do you want me to walk you back?” Zuko offers, standing back up again. Kiyi shakes her head.

“Ziccam will walk me!” she says, running towards the guard. Zuko watches as the poor guy holds the little girl’s hand, looking at his boss with pleading eyes. He simply shrugs, waving them goodbye as Kiyi drags the 90 pounds man through the patio.

“Ah, jerkbending training. It really brings back memories, doesn’t it?” Zuko hears. Turning to his right, he sees Sokka leaning forward in the handrail that surrounds the patio. He walks towards his friend, a smile on his lips.

“Yeah. It also helps that there’s no crazy Fire Lord trying to destroy the world, so we have all the time in the world.” Sokka chuckles, as he walks to the stairs, sitting there. He pats the space beside him, prompting Zuko to sit beside him.

“Things have changed, gladly, for the better.” He shrugs. “Like your hair. It’s longer.” He says, eyeing the back of his head.

Zuko raises his left hand to touch his hair. He had it up in a ponytail, which he tended to do when he was training Kiyi, not wearing his golden hairpiece or his formal robes. They were uncomfortable, but also, he liked spending time with his sister without having to be the Fire Lord.

“Yeah. I barely even noticed, to be honest. My mind’s been… somewhere else.”

“I guess ‘somewhere else’ are those piles of paperwork on your desk.” Sokka says, shaking his head. He leans back, supporting his weight on his forearms. “It suits you, though. You kind of look like that Avatar before Aang, when he was still young.” Zuko laughs.

“Makes sense, since he’s my great grandfather.” Sokka gasps, widening his eyes and sitting up in a second. He takes Zuko by the arms.

“What? Aang’s past live is your great grandfather? You have Avatar blood in you? Zuko! You never told me!” Zuko knits his brows together, shaking his head.

“It doesn’t work like that, Sokka, it’s not on Aang’s blood or-” the younger man interrupts him, talking a mile a second.

“Does Aang even know that he’s _technically_ your great grandfather?”

“I mean, unless Roku told him himself… no, he doesn’t.”

“I’m sure that’s why you’re such a great firebender. It’s in your blood.” Sokka smiles. Zuko frowns again, looking away. Sokka stares at him. “What’s wrong? You have your ‘I must restore my honor’ face. Which isn’t good, because when you have that face, you’re also trying to kill me.”

“It’s just… it’s nothing, Sokka. Don’t mind me.” He moves Sokka’s hands out of his shoulders and stands up. “I’m sorry to leave like this, but I have a lot of work to do… I hope you understand.”

He bows once, then turns back and walks away, feeling Sokka’s worried look on the back of his neck.

He can still hear Sokka saying ‘ _that’s why you’re such a great firebender_ ’ all the way back to his room.

Later, back in his office with Mai, he keeps shaking his leg as he goes over and over the same scroll, until Mai groans.

“You want me to ask what’s wrong, don’t you?” she says. Zuko stares at her, making her raise her eyebrows. “Fine. What’s wrong, Zuko?”

“Where do you think she is?” he asks. Mai’s somber face turns to one of surprise, then she frowns.

“Hopefully?” she says, dropping the scroll on her lap and intertwining her fingers on top of it. “I hope she’s really, really far away. Far away enough so I don’t have to ever see her again. Far away enough that she’ll never hurt any of us again.” Zuko doesn’t answer, his eyes going back to the scroll he had in his hands moments before. “Why?”

“Nothing. It’s just… it’s nothing.” he says, shaking his head. Then he sighs. “Sometimes I wish things had ended differently. She’s still my little sister.”

“Differently? Zuko, she has tried to kill us, all of us, several times. She kidnapped Kiyi and Tom Tom, among many other innocent little kids. She went off the rails, quite literally. The only thing I expect of her right now is to keep her distance, forever.”

“I know what she did, Mai. What I mean is… I hope she had let herself be helped. I hope she had let… me help her.”

Mai stands up, walking towards her friend and kneeling beside him, taking his hand between hers. “I understand. But you need to understand that Azula can’t be helped, ever, because she doesn’t want to be helped.” She whispers, running her thumbs through the back of Zuko’s hand. “It’s her choice, and you need to let her make it.” Zuko nods. Then, she sighs. “Where is this coming from?”

Zuko bites down on his lips and closes his eyes, shaking his head. “You know how I train Kiyi, right?” Mai nods. “Well, today Sokka was watching and he told me something. He said that I’m a great firebender, but… I’m not. She was always better than me, everyone knows that. The nature of our whole relationship was born out of how much better than me she is.” he sighs. “I wish she was the one training Kiyi, so she could develop her full potential. She is such a great firebender, Mai. She melted a titanium door the first time she even firebent. I can’t tame that, if I did it, I would never forgive myself…”

“Zuko.” Mai says, squeezing her hand. “First of all, the nature of Azula and yours relationship was not born out of her being better than you, rather out of your asshole father being, well, an asshole, and pitting you against each other, instead of raising you like he should have. And second of all: you’re not going to tame Kiyi. She’ll get to develop her full potential on her own. Who taught you how to redirect lightning?” Zuko opens his mouth to answer but doesn’t say anything. “Exactly. She needs you to guide her, not squeeze her like a lemon, alright? Plus, who’s better to teach your little sister than the firebender who taught the Avatar to firebend?” Zuko looks away, not saying anything. “Azula would never teach Kiyi to firebend. Or she would, but she’d sabotage her to make sure she was never better than her. We both know her well enough to know that, Zuko.”

Zuko sighs, looking at his friend. “Get up.” he simply says. “The floor is cold.” The girl stands up, shaking the dust off her knees, and looks down to his friend. She groans again.

“I don’t like to say it and you know it, so pay attention, okay?” Zuko nods, looking up at her. “I love you, Zuko.” The young man smiles, squeezing his friend’s hand.

“Thank you, Mai. I love you too.”

“Yeah, whatever, I guess.”

After a long, long day of meetings, Zuko walks back alone to his chambers. He’s had six different meetings, starting at seven in the morning, and all almost two hours long. When he knows there’s no one else other than his guards near, he takes the gold piece out of his hair, letting it fall to his shoulders. After long days like this, it tends to hurt his head, all the tension in his body seeming to concentrate on the crown. Councilmen complaining about his new measures don’t help his headaches either. Thankfully, he has Mai to cut the old men off.

When he reaches his door, he greets good night to the Kyoshi Warriors keeping guard and opens the door. He stops in his steps when he sees a blue figure sitting on his desk.

“Sokka?” he mutters.

The Water Tribe man looks up from the desk, a deep frown on his eyebrows. “This suck.” He offers as a greeting.

Zuko close the door behind him, and, taking off his robe, leaving him in only a red shirt and black pants, walks towards his friend. “What?”

Then, he sees what Sokka is doing in his desk. It’s a puzzle that forms the map of Ba Sing Se, given to him by an Earth Kingdom noble a long time ago, that he had forgotten he even had. It’s almost done, except for one piece, that Sokka keeps trying to fit in the only place left. “It won’t fit!” he complains.

“Certainly.” Zuko replies, taking the piece from his friend’s hand. “It’s not the right space.”

“It’s the only one left!” he groans. Zuko chuckles, shaking his head, then takes another piece that Sokka had fit in the wrong space by force, and exchanges them.

“There. Now it’s done.” He says. Sokka frowns at the puzzle, then at Zuko, and then at the puzzle again. When Zuko is about to ask what’s wrong, Sokka pushes the puzzle out of the desk, making the little pieces fly all around the room. The older man stares, wide-eyed, as his friend crosses his arms on his chest and starts muttering under his breath.

“Well. That was something Kiyi would do. But she’s a little kid, not a 20-year-old.” He raises his eyebrows. Sokka doesn’t answer, so Zuko leans down and starts picking up the pieces.

“Wait, Zuko, no. I’ll do it.” Sokka says, taking him by the arm.

The older man smiles at his friend, shaking his head, as he continues to pick the pieces up. Sokka, on the other hand, picks some of them too, and they both keep going until there’s none left on the floor.

“So.” Zuko says as he puts the pieces back in the box and back in the drawer it used to be. “What are you doing here?” he says, leaning back on his desk with his arms crossed on his chest.

Sokka shrugs, sitting back in Zuko’s chair. “Well, Suki is very busy at the moment, training the new warriors when she’s not doing her shifts and all that, and I thought that maybe Mai and you were here going through some new laws or treaties, so I came here to offer my help as, you know, next in throne to the Southern Water Tribe.”

“You don’t have a throne.” Zuko interrupts him, raising an eyebrow.

“You get the sentiment.” Sokka continues, taking off the hair tie from his wolftail, letting it fall down and frame his face, and starts running his fingers through it, untangling it. Zuko can feel his heart start pounding faster, so he looks away. “Ty Lee was at your door when I got here, so she let me in. I’ve been here doing that stupid puzzle ever since.”

“You went through my stuff?” Zuko asks. Sokka places his hand under his chin, making a ‘hm’ sound.

“Basically, yeah. But only because I was bored.” Zuko shakes his head, as he walks to his bed, where he had dropped his robe, picking it up to put it back in the wardrobe.

Sokka turns to look at him and raises an eyebrow when Zuko opens said wardrobe. “Is that blue I see?”

Zuko turns to look at him, then at the wardrobe. He puts his robe in and takes the piece of blue clothing out. “Yeah. It’s a Water Tribe parka for my trips north and south.” He smiles, showing it to him. “You like it?”

“Can you try it on?” Sokka asks. Zuko frowns a bit, but nods, putting the parka on. Sokka looks him up and down, checking him out, and Zuko can feel his face turn red. He can feel the temperature of his body raising, and he’s pretty sure it has nothing to do with the parka he’s wearing. “Yeah. Blue definitely looks good on you. You should wear it more often.”

“Thanks.” Zuko simply says, taking the parka off and putting it back in his wardrobe. “I would, if I were invited more often to the Tribes.”

Sokka rolls his eyes. “You don’t need any invitation to come to the South Pole, Zuko. You’re my best friend. You’re family. There will always be food and a bed there for you. You know that.”

Zuko smiles, looking down to his feet, hiding the flustered look on his face.

He remembers his first non-business-related trip to the South Pole, where Hakoda and Bato had received him as a long-lost son, instead of an enemy. Some of the elders in the tribe still gave him the stinky eye, but Sokka would always be beside him to distract him. They went fishing, star gazing, and one day, Hakoda woke him up early and took him ice dodging, explaining the tradition to him.

He had never felt he was family in his own family, but still, Sokka and his family thought of him as such. It makes Zuko warm inside, to know that. 

“Now I’m concerned. Should I wear red when I come here?” Sokka asks. Zuko raises his head, then shakes it.

“No. I mean, if you want to, I’ve seen you in red, it suits you.” he blushes a little, looking away.

“Duh.” Sokka interrupts, with a cocky smile. “Everything does.”

“But it’s more of a formality.” Zuko ignores him. “Mai suggested it. You know the other nations still don’t trust me…” he sighs, walking towards his friend, leaning on the desk beside him. “She said if I wear their clothes during formal visits, it’d show that I think of us like equals, unlike Ozai. And I need a parka if I go there anyway, unless I want to die of frostbite.”

Sokka makes an understanding sound. “I get it. Mai is a hell of an advisor. Why isn’t she Fire Lord?”

Zuko laughs. “I’ve asked her. She says that’s too much work for her. And that she only does the advisor thing because she loves me.” Sokka wiggles his eyebrows. “Not like that. Mai and I… it was a good run, but it won’t happen again. She’s happy with Ty Lee, now. And I’m happy she is.”

“What about you?” Sokka asks. “Are you seeing someone?”

Zuko takes a deep breath. This is not the conversation he wants to have with his current crush. Obviously, it’s the kind of conversation two best friends can have. If he avoided the conversation, Sokka would think he _is_ seeing someone, and would try to guess who it was, and then the conversation would drag on until he left Caldera. But Sokka can see through his bullshit, so it’s not like he can tell him he’s not interested in anyone. He bites the inside of his cheeks.

“I’m quite busy at the moment, honestly.” Well, that is not not a lie. He is busy.

Sokka groans, kicking his ankle. “Zuko! Come on, man, you can’t just eat, breathe and live work. If you do that, you’ll suddenly be 87 and you will have barely notice! Plus, you’ll have a hump from being looking down at those scrolls all day.”

Zuko chuckles, shaking his head. “You’re an idiot, Sokka, you know that?”

Sokka smiles and shrugs. “I should go. You seem pretty tired. And I’m sure you have royal business tomorrow, so.” He stands up, placing himself in front of his friend. He leans forward and places his arms around him. Zuko hugs him back, placing his chin on his shoulder. “Please, go to sleep, okay? I’ll send Mai to check on you in about an hour.” He leans back, looking at Zuko in the eyes and pointing his finger at his chest. “You better be asleep by then.”

“I will. Fire Lord word.” Sokka rolls his eyes.

“Nerd.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Oh, can you do me a favor?” Sokka nods. “Come over tomorrow. I need you to go over the proposal for the Southern Water Tribe unit on the Fire Nation education curriculum.”

Sokka raises his eyebrows. “There’s a whole Southern Water Tribe unit?”

“You were essential for the end of the war. Of course there’s one.”

His friend smiles and elbows his side. “Does it mention me?”

Zuko rolls his eyes, shoving at his arm so he stops elbowing him. “Yes, you are mentioned, Sokka.”

“I always knew I was your favorite.” Sokka winks at him. Zuko shoves his shoulder, making him snicker. “Fine, fine. I’m leaving. I’ll come by tomorrow after breakfast, is that okay for you?”

Zuko nods, getting a nod back form his friend, as he leaves the room. Zuko sighs, walking towards his bed. He drops down on it and throws his arm over his face.

If only Sokka knew just how much he favored him. 

Zuko might have convinced his mother to come back to the palace, but she had one condition: she would live within the palace walls, but not inside the building itself. There were too many bad memories trapped within those walls, memories she’d like not resurface. She would get in the palace from time to time, to pick Kiyi up from her training, or to check on her older son, but Zuko knew she would never feel comfortable calling it home again. That’s why he gave them a small villa, big enough for the three of them. Decades ago, those villas were for the staff, when they would spend their whole days inside the palace serving the Fire Lord. But now that Zuko was in the throne, he made sure no one had long shifts, and they could go back to their families most nights, to see their partners, children, or parents; or simply, to have a life that didn’t revolve around working for him.

Some mornings, instead of having breakfast in his chambers, he went to his mother’s villa, sitting with Kiyi on his lap, chatting about what had happened in their lives since the last time they had seen each other.

“Your friend from the Water Tribe came here the other night.” Ursa said, pouring black tea on his cup. Zuko looked at her, raising his eyebrows.

“Sokka? How come?” he asked. Ursa shrugged.

“I think he was lonely. He said he wanted to see how Ikem, Kiyi and I were doing, and he stayed for dinner. Ikem said he likes him. He’s such a good boy. I’m glad he’s your friend.”

Zuko blushes a little, taking a sip from his cup. “Yeah. I’m glad too.”

“He told us about his travels with the Avatar!” Kiyi says, turning to look at her brother. “He said you didn’t have hair, like the Avatar.”

Zuko raises his eyebrow. “I had hair. I had a ponytail.”

“Just a ponytail?” Ursa asks. Zuko looks at his mother, shrugging.

“I don’t know. I was sixteen!”

Ursa shakes his head, offering him a plate with pastries. He takes one for him and another one for Kiyi.

“He also told us how you helped him break his father out of the Boiling Rock prison.” Ursa says, a smile on her lips. “That was very noble of you, son.”

“Well, everybody already knew I was a traitor, and it was thanks to Mai we made it out alive anyway…”

“Still. Just the fact that you offered to help him out was more than enough for him to realize who you really are. His words, not mine.” Ursa says, a soft smile on her lips, her eyes slanted. Zuko doesn’t answer. He’s not sure what he’s supposed to say. “Oh, and Kiyi really likes him, too. Don’t you, honey?”

Kiyi nods. “He’s great, Zuzu! He said we are friends, and he’s coming over more times so we can play together. He’s going to teach me how to throw his boomerang!” Zuko’s eyes widen, and he looks at his mother.

“Are we sure that’s… safe?”

“Do _you_ trust your friend?” Ursa asks.

“I trust Sokka with my life, Mom. But I know how he gets with his boomerang. Maybe you should… wait a little?” he suggests to his sister, who isn’t listening to him anymore, her attention completely focused on the biscuits in front of her.

“It’s okay, Zuko. I’ll be there too. It’s just a boomerang.” Ursa says, reaching forward to grab her son’s hand and squeeze it.

“Okay. But if she gets hurt, I’ll personally kill himself with his own boomerang.”

Ursa rolls her eyes. “You’re so dramatic, son. And it comes from someone whose living came from theatre.”

Zuko huffs, looking down at Kiyi, who keeps downing biscuits, and kisses her head. The little girl looks up to him and smiles. He smiles back.

Mai and Zuko are discussing the best way to approach the Earth King about the new trade routes when Sokka barges in. “Hello, Fire fellas!” he says, walking towards the desk. Mai huffs and rolls her eyes. “Let’s talk about _me_.”

The girl leans back on her seat, eyeing Sokka from head to toes. Zuko folds back the roll in his hand and takes a new one, offering it to Sokka. “Katara sent us all the information she could gather from your grandmother and the other elders. These are basically the most general points, we’ll have it redacted by the Water Tribe ambassador and the Education minister-“

“Who is him.” Mai interrupts

“But we wanted a second point of view to check it before we send it.” Zuko ignores her. Sokka nods, unfolding the scroll.

“We also would like more information about the military. There’s only so much Katara could give us, and since you’re part of it, and future Chief, we think you have more insight on it.” Mai adds. Zuko nods.

“Well, I mean. You know how our tribe is, there’s no military per se. Not like yours or the Northern Water Tribe. We are warriors, but we only fight when we have to.” Mai takes a new scroll and a quill, taking notes of what Sokka is explaining, while Zuko stares at his friend, his head supported on his closed fist.

“Like the One Hundred Years War.” Zuko says, making Sokka nod.

“My tribe is very pacifist, really. We’re no Aang, but…” he shrugs. “Yeah, I can add some side notes. Is there any deadline?”

“Just as soon as possible.” Zuko says. “This is the last reformation on the educational curriculum. Hopefully, next year all the Fire Nation students will be able to leave the propaganda behind and learn more about the other nations.”

Sokka nods and smiles. “I can’t wait to read what you said about me. Let’s talk about it over dinner!” He says, as he turns back and leaves the room.

When the door is closed, Mai turns to look at Zuko. “You told him he’s mentioned on the unit?”

“I mean. He is.” Zuko smiles at her.

“It only says he was with Katara when they found the Avatar.” She raises her eyebrows. “He’s mentioned, yes, but most of the information about him is actually on the One Hundred Year War unit.”

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, Mai. Let _me_ handle his rage later.”

“As you wish, Fire Lord. Now, about those routes…”

The second time Sokka barges in Zuko’s office that day, he’s alone. Mai has left for a meeting, and he’s writing a response letter to Aang when it happens.

“You filthy liar!” he says. Zuko looks up, raising his eyebrows in surprise, although he knows exactly what is going on.

“What did I do?” he says, trying not to break out laughing.

“You said I was mentioned! It doesn’t even say my name!” he pouts, putting the scroll down.

“It says you found the Avatar!”

“It says, and I quote” he starts, pointing with his finger the line he’s reading. “’Master Waterbender Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, along with her older brother, found the Avatar trapped in an iceberg almost a hundred years after his disappearance, and left their village to travel the world with him, helping him defeat Fire Lord Ozai in the end.’ That’s not being mentioned at all!”

Zuko shakes his head, snickering. “Yeah, well. Tough luck, I guess.” 

“You’re an asshole, you know that? And I hate you. I can’t believe you’re my best friend. I hate you.” Zuko stands up, placing his hands on the younger’s shoulders.

“Calm down, Sokka. There’s a lot of information about you on the One Hundred Year War unit. Remember how you were one of the leaders of the Water Tribe?” Sokka’s eyes widen.

“Really?”

Zuko smiles softly and nods. “I swear. Do you really think I would not teach the future of my kingdom about the bravest, smartest guy I know?”

Sokka blushes softly, and hugs him “Forget what I just said. You’re the best friend ever. I love you!”

Zuko’s the one blushing now, and he clears his throat before he pats Sokka on the shoulder. “Uh, thanks.”

Sokka breaks the hug and smiles. “Oh! By the way, what are you doing now?”

“Right now? Writing to your sister and Aang. Why?”

“Can that wait?”

“I meant to send it today…” he frowns, looking down at the piece of paper.

“Suki has the afternoon free. We’re going to the market, if you want to come. It would be good for you to get out of this palace for once.”

“Uh, thank you, Sokka, but I…”

“You have work to do.” Sokka finishes for him. Zuko nods. “It’s okay.” he shrugs. “Next time?”

“Of course. Just, give me a heads up, okay?”

Sokka nods again, balancing his weight in his toes. “I… should go. I have to write to my dad, he doesn’t even know I’m here, so… yeah. See you around, Fire Lord.” He says. Zuko waves at him as he leaves the room, leaving the raven-haired man sighing as he falls down back on his chair.

He looks down at the letter for Aang. “Why couldn’t I just fall in love with the person I’m meant to marry like you?” he whispers, taking his quill and starting to write again.

“A letter came in this morning.” Mai informs him a few days letter. “You’ll have a visit from the Earth Kingdom shortly.”

“Huh?” Zuko frowns. “Is Toph coming? I thought she was in Cranefish Town, helping her father with the new factory.”

“Apparently not. She’s flying in with the new Earth Kingdom councilwoman.” Zuko frowns. “You know there’s a new Earth Kingdom councilwoman coming, right?” she deadpans, throwing daggers at him with her eyes.

He gulps. “I… might remember hearing about something like that, yes.”

Mai groans. “I can’t stand you. If you weren’t helpless without me, I’d leave this job.”

“I love you, Mai. You know I couldn’t do this without you.”

“I need a raise. And next time you leave with Aang, I’m not going to be your Uncle’s advisor. You know how much tea I drank last time? I don’t even like tea, Zuko. I had to pee five times a day. That’s five times in one day.”

Zuko snickers. “You could’ve said no.”

“No? To your Uncle’s tea?” Mai crosses her arms on her chest “You’re definitely going insane. Do you have a fever? Have you done something right again?”

Zuko shakes his head, waving her away. Mai rolls her eyes, turning back and leaving the room. The Fire Lord follows her with his eyes. It’s a shame they didn’t work out. She would’ve been a great Princess.

Toph and the councilwoman arrive a week and a half later. Sokka, Mai and Zuko receive them. She jumps down from the airship, quite literally, raising her arms in the air as she runs towards Zuko. “Sparky!”

Zuko smiles, hugging her. “Toph. Welcome back to the Fire Nation.”

“Drop the formalities, Fire Lord. It’s just me.” she says, doing her attempt of an eye roll. Zuko smiles as he stares at her. She turns to Mai’s direction.

“Hello, Gloomy.” Mai shakes her head, sighing.

“Hello, Toph. It’s great to see you again.”

“It’s great to see you too.” Toph says. Zuko does roll his eyes, while Mai raises her eyebrows.

“I’m here too!” Sokka exclaims. Toph turns to her general direction, her face showing her confusion.

“Snoozles! Hey! How long have you been here?” she asks, hugging him.

“A few weeks. I came with Suki!”

Zuko notices his stomach twisting. He’s pretty sure Toph has noticed something, because her head turns slightly towards him, then back at Sokka. “That’s cool. I thought I was going to have to spend all my visit coaxing Zuko out of his office, but I guess I can hang out with you too.”

Sokka pouts, looking at Zuko, who shrugs, trying to play it cool. He knows he’s a sucker for Sokka, but his pout and the fact that his hair is down are making it even worse.

Mai clears her throat beside him, making him look at her. She discreetly points toward the airship, where the councilwoman is climbing down from. Zuko’s eyes widen when he recognizes her.

She’s taller, now, but her face is almost the same, only thinner. She has braided his hair, and is wearing a long green dress, similar to the one she was wearing all those years ago. Her hazel eyes are as vibrant as back then, and her skin seems just as soft. Zuko can’t believe out of all the people in Ba Sing Se, it’s her who’s here.

He marches towards her, taking one of the bags in her hands. “Jin.” He says. “It’s been a long time.”

The girl (more like a woman, now) smiles at him, placing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “It certainly is, Fire Lord.” She blushes before she continues talking. “Or should I say Lee?”

Zuko chuckles and shakes his head. “Just Zuko is okay. If we’re not in official business, of course.”

“Of course.” She answers. Zuko calls one of his guards to take Jin’s luggage to her room.

“Welcome to the Fire Nation.” He says, walking back towards the group. “Jin, this is Mai, my Prime Advisor.” Mai bows, greeting the girl in front of her. Jin does the same. “I guess you’ve already met Toph,” she nods, smiling at the teenager. “And this is Sokka, my best friend.”

“Sokka? Are you the brother of the Avatar’s girlfriend?” Sokka rolls his eyes.

“Is that what people know me as?” he groans.

Jin blushes, covering her lips with her fingers. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know…”

“No, no, it’s okay.” Zuko assures her, eyeing Sokka. “It’s not your fault.” He clears his throat. “Come on, I’ll give you a tour of the palace while they finish up your room.”

He places his hand in the small of her back, guiding her inside, and leaving his friends behind.

They walk around the palace, Zuko showing her the rooms where meetings usually take place, the dining rooms, the throne room (which he barely uses anymore. He tried to, at first, but there were too many bad memories), and the patios. He shows her the way to her room, and then, he takes her to the turtleducks pond.

“It’s a nice circus, after all.” Jin mentions when they’re sitting under the shade of a tree.

Zuko blushes a little, and he rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah… Sorry I lied to you.”

“It’s okay.” she assures him, placing a hand on his knee. “I understand. You were hiding from the Fire Nation. Your uncle and I… had a talk.”

“You did?” Zuko frowns.

“Well, I kept going to his shop after the war. There’s no better jasmine tea in Ba Sing Se.”

Zuko smiles, looking at her. “Yeah. I should go back there soon.”

“Do you miss serving tables?” she asks. At first Zuko thinks she’s being sarcastic, but he only finds genuineness in her voice.

“Sometimes. Being Fire Lord is not as fun as it sounds.” He looks at the small creatures swimming peacefully on the pond, not a worry in the world. Sometimes he wish he could be as oblivious of the world, if only for a few hours.

Jin nods. “I can see that. The bags under your eyes speak by themselves.”

Zuko presses his lips together, looking away. Jin doesn’t talk, giving him his space. After a while, he turns to look at her. She’s looking at the turtleducks, a small smile on his lips. He clears his throat, and she turns her head towards him.

“So how did you become a politician?”

Jin laughs, leaning back against the tree. “Well, you see. After everything happened with the Dai Li, and the war ended, I realized I didn’t want to be… fooled like that again. Nor my people to be. I realized if I wanted to avoid that happening again, I had to take matter on my own hands. if I wanted things to change, I had to be part of that change. I had to be in. My father had influence in the King’s council, so he got me in. And I guess I must be good, because it was him who sent me here.”

Zuko hums. “Well. I for one am glad you’re here. I’m sure your point of view will be useful. Mai has proven time and time again the council would be much wiser if there were more women like you two on it, instead of all those old conservative men.”

Jin smiles at him. She turns back to look at the pond, bracing her knees. Zuko keeps looking at her, until she speaks again.

“You’re staring.”

“You’ve grown up.” he says. She looks at him. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you. You, too. This hairstyle suits you better.” She laughs. Zuko rolls his eyes.

“I already told you, my uncle spent ten minutes trying to get that right.”

“And I already told you, you looked _so_ cute.” She replies.

They stay there for a long time, Jin looking at the pond and telling him about her experiences as a politician in Ba Sing Se, and Zuko just staring, letting himself imagine what it would be like if he let himself fall for her this time.

A week after Toph and Jin’s arrival, the latter has already made acquaintance with most of the staff at the palace and has learnt the names of the ones she interacts with the most. Zuko is marveled: it had taken him much more time to learn them, but he figures Jin has much more time than he did when he first started his leadership.

He’s walking Jin back to her room after a meeting when, walking past one of the patios, he spots Sokka throwing his boomerang around. He stops in his track, making Jin look at him in confusion, when he sees who’s there with Sokka.

He storms outside to where his friend is. “Sokka, stop!” he demands, making the younger man look at him with raised eyebrows.

“Zuko? What’s wrong?”

Zuko walks towards his little sister, who has the boomerang on her hands. “Are you hurt?” he asks, his voice softer, but still shaky.

“No.” Kiyi answers. Her face shows confusion, and she looks behind him, towards Sokka.

Zuko turns to look at him, too. “She’s a kid, Sokka. She shouldn’t be playing around with weapons.”

“She’s a firebender, too. Isn’t her bending not a weapon?” Sokka says, crossing his arms on his chest.

“It’s completely different. She knows she’s not allowed to firebend outside of our classes.” He stands up, standing eye to eye with his best friend. “This is completely irresponsible of you, Sokka.”

Sokka scoffs. “I can’t believe you’d think I’d ever try to hurt your sister. I’m not you, you know?” Zuko’s eyes widen in anger at the same time Sokka’s widen in realization. “I’m not- I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry, Zuko.”

“No, it’s okay. You’re right. You’d never try to hurt my sister.” He says, taking Kiyi in his arms and walking away from his friend, taking the boomerang from the girl’s hands and dropping it on the floor.

“Are you okay?” Jin, who had stayed by the entrance, asks when he walks past her.

Zuko doesn’t answer, walking away through the hallways.

That night, long after Mai has left his chambers, and he’s still up going through his paperwork, there’s a knock on his door.

“Come in.” he says, softly. The door opens slowly and Suki walks in. She’s not wearing her Kyoshi uniform, instead going for a more casual outfit with the colors of the Fire Nation. Zuko looks her up and down. He knows exactly why Sokka can’t get enough of her. It’s not only her body and face that are beautiful – specially now that she’s leaving behind her childish figure, growing more and more into a woman; but also… her. How fierce she is, how badass. It’s been years and he still is overwhelmed every time he remembers the first time he saw her in action, back in Boiling Rock.

“Hey.” She says, her voice soft and tender, as he walks towards him. “Sokka told me you two had a fight today.” Zuko scoffs, turning back to his paperwork. “Zuko…” she starts, sitting in his desk.

“Suki, if you’ve come to mediate, you can leave. Whatever fights I have with Sokka are no one’s businesses but our own.”

Suki sighs. “You’re right. I’m sorry, I didn’t want to interpose.” She stays there, balancing her legs forward and backwards. She tilts her head. “Can I ask you something?”

Zuko raises his eyebrows, not looking away from the scroll.

“What’s the deal between you and Jin?” she says, her voice teasing. Zuko looks at her.

“We knew each other, from Ba Sing Se.” he says after sighing. “We, um, went on a date once.”

“A date? Zuko!” she yelps. Zuko shushes her. “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t know you had had dates. Not with… anyone other than Mai.”

“Well, it was when Uncle and I were undercover there… I didn’t mean to have any other date with her, you know how I was back then. And it was dangerous, for both of us. I couldn’t be honest with her and if I had been caught, she could have gotten hurt. I didn’t want that. she didn’t care I was an asshole to her, though.”

“But you never went on another?” Zuko shakes his head.

“No. She kept coming back to the tea shop my Uncle had, but not long after that, you know, I… came back here.” He frowns. Suki hums.

“So… is the flame getting lit again?” she kicks his thigh with the point of her feet.

“That joke was the worst.” He rolls his eyes. “I don’t know. It may be. We’re… different people now. But the world is different, too.”

“You’re right. Well, you know if it’s meant to be, it’ll happen, sooner or later. Who knows? Maybe she’ll get to be the next Fire Princess.” She smiles. Zuko smiles back at her.

“Yeah, who knows.”

She pats his head as she drops off the desk. Then, she kisses his forehead. “Talk to Sokka, okay? I hate seeing you two like this.”

Zuko nods, and she walks out of the room. He sighs, dropping his head on the desk.

 _Fire Princess_ is the only thing in his mind.

Zuko had never even thought about it before. Not seriously, at least. It was the last thing he had ever had on his mind. When he had been with Mai, it had not ben a problem, but obviously, he was not with Mai anymore, and his current crush on his clearly male best friend was the opposite of a possibility to that. Zuko needed a Fire Princess. Not because the Fire Nation was not tolerant, that had been changed almost as soon as Mai and him had broken up: he wanted her to feel safe in her new relationship with Ty Lee, so he had gotten rid of his grandfather’s bigoted laws. But Zuko was the Fire Lord. He needed an heir. To create one, he needed to marry a woman. Of course, he could proclaim his heir someone not of his own blood, but he figured the council – specially the older councilmen, would be against that.

Agni, he was screwed. He needed to get over this crush on Sokka as soon as possible.

Next time they all have dinner together, Mai literally drags him across the palace so he doesn’t skip it. The guards, at first, try to stop her, but after she glares at them, they step aside. Then, she makes him sit between her and Ty Lee; Sokka and Suki in front of them. Toph was already back in Cranefish Town, with her father, working on their new business, and he hadn’t even had time to say goodbye to her.

Sokka doesn’t look at him, instead down at his plate. Ty Lee and Suki chat happily, Mai joining in from time to time; meanwhile the boys’ presence is ignored.

When Zuko finishes his dinner, he tries to stand up, but Mai’s hand on his thigh stops him. “Where do you think you’re doing?” she asks, making Ty Lee and Suki turn to look at them, stopping mid-conversation.

“I- uhm, we’re… I have to work.”

“No. It’s your night off. You’ll work tomorrow.”

“Yeah, you’ve been working non-stop for a week. Just take a break.” Suki pleads, smiling at him.

“I just… there’s so much to be done and I don’t think I…”

“Oh, come on Zuko! Stay. You still haven’t told us anything about your new girlfriend!”

Sokka’s head snaps at that. He’s frowning at him, and Zuko’s heart has jumped on his chest. He’s not ready for this. Why do his friends have to be so interested on his private life?

“Jin and I are not… together. We’re just friends.” He gulps.

“Suki told us otherwise.” Ty Lee wiggles her eyebrows. Zuko clears his throat, looking down at his lap.

“Yeah, well I, uhm. We had a date, but that was years ago.” Ty Lee coos, making Zuko blush. “That was it. Now I’m just trying to make her feel welcomed.” He shrugs.

“Well, you spend a lot of time trying, then.” Mai comments, taking a bite off her noodles.

Zuko shakes his head. “I do have to go now. I’ll make it up to you soon, okay?” he stands up, bowing to them as a goodbye. “I’m really sorry.”

He leaves the room, walking towards his own, his head starting to ache. He greets goodnight at the guards by his door and takes off his crown and clothes, staying in his undergarments and sitting on his desk.

It’s not long until he hears someone coming in his room. He looks up to find Sokka.

“Hey.” The Water Tribe boy says.

“Hello.” Zuko replies, raising his eyebrow.

“Can I come in?” Sokka says. Zuko keeps his eyebrows raised.

“You’re already in, aren’t you?”

Sokka looks around, then nods. He stays quiet, looking at him. He bites down on his lip and plays with his hands. He’s nervous.

“Can we talk?” Sokka says. Zuko looks down to his desk.

“I don’t know, Sokka. I’m a bit busy and…”

“Look, I’m sorry. I am. I shouldn’t have let Kiyi play with weapons, you’re right. I shouldn’t have played with her and my boomerang. Your mom mentioned you didn’t want her near weapons, so it’s not like I didn’t know. I shouldn’t have gone against your wishes, she’s your sister after all. If someone should understand how you feel about protecting her, it should be me. And I shouldn’t have said that. It was really unfair. You’re not that person anymore. Spirits, I doubt you ever were. I don’t know what came over me, I was just mad that you thought I was going to hurt Kiyi. It felt like you didn’t trust me, and you’re my best friend, so I really worry about what you think of me, okay? I could have handled that way better. I guess I’m still childish sometimes.”

Zuko sighs, then stands up. He walks to his friend and hugs him. “It’s okay. I overreacted too. I know you’d never let anything happen to Kiyi. It’s just… I don’t want to make the same mistakes with her as I did with Azula. I don’t want to lose another sister. I didn’t protect her from Azula and Mai’s father, and I still have nightmares about it. I know I shouldn’t be this paranoid, but…”

“I get it. I was like that with Katara, too. Until she grew up and started to kick my butt. Kiyi will too, just so you know.”

Zuko laughs and they break apart. Sokka stares at him, smiling. “Okay. I’m glad we’re good, then. You know I love you, right?”

Zuko’s breath hitches, but he manages to hide it, Agni knows how. “Yes. I love you too.”

Sokka nods, looking up to Zuko’s hairline. “Can I braid your hair?”

Zuko frowns. “What?” he asks.

Sokka side smiles. “I don’t feel like going to bed yet. And I want to spend some time with you. Let me braid your hair.”

“Do you know how to?”

“Of course! Who do you think braided Katara’s hair after my mom died? She was so small; she couldn’t reach the back of her head. And GranGran’s hands were too shaky.” He says. He stares at Zuko. “It’s manly to help your women, okay?”

Zuko laughs. “I’m not saying it isn’t.” he eyes Sokka. “Yeah. you can braid my hair.”

“Great! Come over.” He takes Zuko’s hands and drags him to his bed, sitting with his legs open. He pushes Zuko down, to sit on the floor between them, Zuko’s back in front of him. “Tell me if it hurts, okay? It’s been a while since I’ve done this.”

“You don’t braid Suki’s hair?” Sokka doesn’t answer, running his fingers through Zuko’s hair.

“It’s too short for that. Ty Lee let me once, though, but she says I take too long.” Zuko chuckles.

“Yeah. Ty Lee’s not one to stay sit for long period of time.” Sokka hums, taking a few strands of Zuko’s hair, tangling them together.

They stay in silence for a while, until Sokka talks.

“So… uhm, Jin…” he says. Zuko thanks Agni Sokka can’t see him, because he can feel his whole face blushing.

“It’s not… we’re not… we’re just friends.”

“No, I’m happy for you, dude. I am.” Sokka says. “It’s just, after last time… I wasn’t sure if you liked girls.”

Zuko gulps. It’s the first time they’ve talked about it. The first time they’ve talked about their night together. he has to take a few deep breaths before he feels like he can talk without choking.

“Well. I did date Mai for years, didn’t I?” he says. Sokka hums.

“Well, yeah. But then you broke up, and she started dating Ty Lee, and you changed your great grandfather’s law, so I thought maybe all that time you had been… helping each other out.”

“Is that why…” Zuko ventures. Sokka clears his throat.

“I had always been curious. You know how attractive you are. When we were… when we started being friends, I was with Suki, but I still had eyes, dude. And after Boiling Rock I could see who you really were. I don’t know.” Zuko can feel him shrugging behind him by the way he tugs his hair when he does. “But we had never been both single at the first time until then. I shot my shot.”

“Yeah. That you did.” They keep quiet a few seconds more, and then it’s Zuko’s turn to ask. “I didn’t know you liked men, either.”

“It’s not uncommon in our tribe. You know about my dad and Bato.” Zuko nods. Sokka tugs his hair. Zuko feels his blood leave his face. “Don’t move your head!”

“Sorry…”

“As I was saying.” Sokka starts again. “It’s not uncommon in our tribe. But it’s not… the usual thing, either. I mean, it’s okay if you are, but it’s not… celebrated to show it off. Only the closest people to my dad know he’s with Bato. For the rest of the tribe, specially elders and children, they’re really good friends.”

“Don’t they live together?” Zuko asks.

“Yes. Our tribe is a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ kind of tribe. You get used to it.” Zuko feels Sokka shrug again. “You know what my tribe was like for me growing up. I didn’t get to… there weren’t boys my age. There were a few girls, I got to experience that part. But I didn’t really explore the other side of me until Aang. Uhm, not that it was with him, but...”

Zuko chuckles. “I get it. You started traveling the world, and…”

“Yeah. And. What about you?”

Zuko sighs. “I didn’t have many friends as a kid. You know Mai and I… we liked each other since we were kids. Then I was banished and… I didn’t really get to be with people my age on that ship. So it wasn’t until Ba Sing Se that I started to… be around younger people.”

“Like Jin.” Sokka says. Zuko nods. “You’re ruining my process!”

“Sorry. Sorry. So, yes, Jin was one of them. I had a date with her, but it didn’t go further. I didn’t let it go further. I was too afraid they’d discover me and my uncle, that they’d… send us back to the Fire Nation, lock us in prison.”

“Yeah. I understand.”

“But there were no men. Not… in practice. I mean, I understood a lot of things about myself during that year; and serving tables in the Jasmine Dragon, I saw a lot of different people, so what I understood was that those things I liked in girls, I found on boys too.”

“Was I the first one?”

Zuko scoffs. “Nah. Mai and I broke up a few times, you know it, and there were a lot of new soldiers coming here every few weeks.”

Sokka laughs. “Who would’ve thought the Fire Lord was such a gentlemen’s man.”

“I have my ways.” He says, shrugging.

“You said Jin and you didn’t work out because you didn’t want to be caught.” Sokka says. Zuko doesn’t reply. “But now you are both here, and there’s no danger. Tell me, is she going to be the Princess?”

Zuko sighs. “I don’t know, Sokka. We’re friends, but… I’m not sure if I could love her. And I don’t want to marry someone just because I have to. I don’t want to end up like my parents. And I could not do that to someone else.”

Sokka hums. The tugging on his hair ceases, and Sokka softly slaps his nape. “It’s done. You look like a Southerner now.” He jokes. Zuko rolls his eyes, turning to look at his friend, who’s smiling.

“Did you pierce your ears?” Zuko asks, frowning. Sokka raises his hand to his left ear, touching the top of it.

“Yeah. Bato did them. Do you like them?”

“Yes. You look good.” Sokka’s smile widens, and he stands up from the bed. Zuko stands up too.

“I should go to bed. Suki is probably waiting for me.” Zuko nods, and hugs Sokka. The younger hugs him back, and Zuko takes a deep breath, inhaling his smell. “Good night, Zuko.” He says, before breaking the hug apart and leaving the room.

Zuko sighs, sitting in his bed, in the same spot Sokka had been sitting; his hand running down his new braid. It stops midway through it, when he touches something different. He runs the pads of his fingers along the small sphere. Walking towards his mirror, he inspects it. It’s one of the beads Sokka had on the small braid he sports on his own hair. Zuko smiles, twisting it between his fingers.

God, he’s head over heals his best friend.

During the next few weeks, Zuko and Jin grow closer. They go to and come from meetings together, go out to the city in her request a few times, sometimes to have dinner, sometimes to go shopping. Mai always has to push him out of the room, assuring him she’ll keep working on their paperwork while he’s gone (and keeping her word).

At first, most people whisper as they walk past them. After their third time going out, the entirety of Caldera has notice that Zuko is courting Jin. On their fourth, the citizens start engaging with her, trying to get to know what seems to be their future Princess. The council is more than happy to know that a beautiful and smart woman, from the Earth Kingdom no less, will soon be married to their Fire Lord.

Zuko hates what he’s doing. He likes Jin, genuinely likes spending time with her. She’s nice, and so intelligent, and funny, and she always pays attention to him, not because he is the Fire Lord, but because he is interested in what he has to say. She has already met Ursa, Ikem, and Kiyi, and they all have loved her. She’s friends with Mai and Ty Lee, and every time Zuko sees her in the halls, she is chatting with someone from the staff or a guard, not ordering them around, but actually asking them about their lives.

But he’ll never be able to love her, because his heart is somewhere else. His heart belongs to his best friend, from the second they kissed, and the flame of hope ignited on his chest.

No matter how hard he tries, Jin’s hazel eyes will never have the strength and shine of Sokka’s blue ones, will never take his breath away when he looks too intensely at them. Jin’s hands are soft, unlike Sokka’s, that are firm, and have calluses from all the weapons he had to learn to use when he was just a kid, dragged into a war he never asked to fight. He could hold Jin in his arms, but it would never make his heart race the same way as when Sokka put a hand on his shoulder, silently making sure he knew he was there for him, supporting him, believing in him. Jin smelled like flowers, like a perfume; whereas Sokka always smelled like the sea, not because of some perfume, just because he did, because that’s where he came from, and what he had inside of him.

He was lying to his Nation, to his friends, but most importantly, he was lying to himself.

And he hated himself for it.

So, when Aang and Katara arrive in surprise, it only makes it worse. He is lying to more friends now, friends who he loved and who had given him their trust after all the horrible things he had done for him, friends he promised himself he’d never hurt again.

He is on his office when they get to the palace, and he’s going over some treaty the Earth Kingdom was trying to take advantage of, when the door opens.

“Sifu Hotman!” the Avatar’s cheery voice says, as he flies inside the room with Katara’s hand on his.

“Aang?” he replies, incredulous. “What are you doing here?”

He stands up, hugging his friends. They don’t answer, only looking at him. Zuko’s eyebrows raise.

Aang is smiling widely, and Katara is blushing a little. They still don’t speak, and Zuko is starting to get worried. “Are you guys okay? You don’t seem like it. Is there something wrong?”

Aang clears his throat, pointing at his girlfriend, who keeps playing with her necklace. He furrows his forehead, confused.

“What…” he starts. Then, Katara moves her hand away from her throat and he can clearly see the necklace. It’s not Katara’s mom’s, the one he stole so many years ago, although it’s very similar. The ribbon is a different shade of blue, a bit lighter, but the stone on the other hand… They’re clearly different. This one is completely white, and instead of the Water Tribe symbol, it has the Air Nomads’ one. Zuko’s eyes widen. “You proposed?” he asks, making Aang laugh. The older hugs the Avatar, and then Katara. Aang is way taller than him at this point, he’s the tallest of them all, but Katara still fits under his chin like she used to. “Guys. Congratulations. I’m so happy for you two.”

“We’re going to wait a bit, of course.” Aang starts explaining. “Hakoda says we’re still too young. But I wanted to make sure.” He can’t stop smiling, and Zuko understands. He probably couldn’t, if he was engaged to the love of his life, too.

“I’m so glad you two are marrying each other.” He says. “You deserve it. We should celebrate it! I’ll tell my staff to organize a party for you two.”

“Please, don’t. We just wanted to tell you. Only close friends and family. Not even GranGran knows yet.” Katara says.

“We’re going to the South Pole next to tell her!” Aang says.

“Oh. But you’re staying, right?” Zuko asks. It’s been so long since he saw his friends, he doesn’t want to say goodbye to them so soon.

“Yes! We’ll stay for a few days.” Katara starts. “Then Sokka and us are leaving.”

“Sokka too?” Zuko frowns.

“He said there’s not a lot left he can do here.” Aang answers him, shrugging. “So he’s joining us.”

“Oh.” Zuko simply says.

“Speaking of! He told us you’ve met someone!” Katara exclaims. “Were you not going to tell us?”

Zuko blushes a little, looking away. “It wasn’t… uhm, there’s nothing official yet.”

“Yet!” Aang points out. “That means there will be! We’re so happy for you, Zuko!”

Zuko takes a deep breath, and smiles. More lies. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

Katara smiles, her eyes barely visible. “We’ll leave you to your Fire Lord business now. We still have to find Suki and the girls!”

“Of course. Have you been given rooms yet?” Aang nods, then bows to him.

“It’s all taken care of. We’ll see you later, Sifu Hotman.” Zuko rolls his eyes at the nickname as the couple leaves the room.

He goes back to his desk, shaking his head. His friends are _engaged_. They really are growing up.

He’s been here for a while. The news of Aang and Katara getting married in the foreseeable future overwhelmed him. Not because he didn’t like the idea, but because he realized time was passing by, and he was barely noticing. It really had been five years since he was crowned, and he barely can think of a day he was not working in the last few months.

He closes his eyes, leaning his head back against the tree.

“I knew I’d found you here.” He hears Jin’s soft voice. Opening his eyes, he finds the young woman smiling at him, her hair up in a ponytail, wearing the new red robes he had gotten for her.

“Hey.” He greets her as she sits beside him.

“I met the Avatar today.” She says, her face showing her excitement. “I know he’s your friend and it’s not a big deal for you, but… wow. I didn’t know he was so…”

“Nice?” Zuko finished for her. She laughs.

“Yeah… but I was going to say… young.”

Zuko bites his lower lip. They all were. They all were too young for the things they had had to go through. “You say it like you’re forty years older than her.”

Jin rolls her eyes. “You know what I mean. He’s… seventeen? How old was he when…” She cuts herself, looking for the words to finish.

“Thirteen. Almost. Well, technically, a hundred and thirteen, but he says he doesn’t count the years he was on the ice.” Jin laughs.

“He was so young. He shouldn’t have gone through all that at such a young age…” Zuko doesn’t say anything. He wasn’t much older than Aang when he was burned by his father and banished. Jin knows that, and Zuko knows she wants to talk about it, but no one starts the conversation. “And… they’re going to get married?”

“Not right away. But yes. They’ll wait until they’re older, and things are a bit more… stable, I guess. The world isn’t going to rebuild itself.” Zuko looks at her. She was already looking at him, so their eyes meet.

“You’re doing a great job at that, you know it, right?” Jin whispers. Zuko smiles at her.

“I try to think so.” She puts her hand on top of his. He intertwines their fingers, sighing.

They stay there, sitting under the shade of Zuko’s favorite tree, Jin’s head on his shoulder, their hands together, looking at the turtleducks peacefully swimming around the pond; and Zuko thinks, maybe, if he tries to, this is something he could get used to.

The night before Sokka, Aang and Katara leave, Mai organizes a goodbye dinner for them. Zuko invites Jin.

They get to the room together, Jin’s small hand on his. The rest of his friends are already sitting around the table, sitting in pairs. When Zuko closes the door behind them, the silence falls on the room.

“Sorry for the delay.” Zuko says, walking towards the table, Jin right beside him. They sit on the left, between Mai and Katara, and across Sokka and Suki. “I got caught up in some work.”

“Yeah, some work alright.” Suki says, winking at him. Zuko blushes, clearing his throat. From the corner of his eyes, he looks at Sokka scowling at his girlfriend.

“Uhm. Okay.” he says, looking at his friends. “I hope it’s okay I invited Jin, I just…”

“Of course, it’s okay!” Ty Lee exclaims, looking at the girl, who holds on tighter to Zuko’s hands. “I’ve been waiting for you to finally bring her over. Now she’s officially part of the group!”

Jin’s knee brushes Zuko’s, and he feels her shifting to try and hide behind him. He starts rubbing circles on the back of her hand. “Yeah. She is.” he smiles softly.

They spend the entirety of the dinner asking Jin about her life in Ba Sing Se, before she decided to become a politician and go to Caldera. Jin politely answered all their questions, getting more and more confident as the night went on.

Suki offers her another drink as she smirks at the girl. “So, Jin. Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.” she smiles, accepting the drink.

“What was your first date with Zuko like? And I mean _the first one_.”

Zuko groans. He’s already had a few drinks himself. “Really? Do we have to?”

“Listen to an embarrassing story of angry teenage Zuko?” Mai says. “Of course we do. Maybe we can even exchange notes, Jin. Did you know we once had a date at the burial site of his ancestor’s? It was _so_ romantic.”

Zuko sighs as Jin giggles beside him. “It wasn’t that bad. I went to the Jasmine Dragon with my friends a lot, but it was mainly to see him.” Zuko smiles at her. “After a few weeks, I decided to ask him out, because he was too oblivious to notice.”

“Sounds like Zuko.” Katara comments. Aang laughs, and the older man rolls his eyes.

Jin pats his shoulder. “Anyway. His uncle basically pushed him to say yes.”

“Sounds like Iroh.” Mai says. Ty Lee giggles.

“We went out for dinner. He had an ugly hairstyle.”

“Was it the ponytail?” Sokka asks. Jin raises her eyebrows.

“It wasn’t the ponytail, Sokka.” Zuko rolls his eyes. “My uncle gelled with a middle part”

“it was ugly, but you looked cute.” Jin laughs. “Again, we went out for dinner. I asked him about his life, like you do on a date… but obviously, he lied the whole time.”

“What a mean thing to do!” Aang exclaims. Zuko raises his eyebrow.

“I was undercover! My sister and my father wanted to throw me in prison!”

“It’s okay.” Jin says. “I had fun. He said he was a juggler in the circus. And then he tried to prove it.”

Ty Lee laughs. “The circus. You would not have survived in the circus one day.”

Zuko scoffs. “After dinner, I took him to my favorite place in the city.” She says, looking at him.

“It was this square with a fountain in the middle. There were a lot of lamps and when they were lit, the fire would be reflected in the water. It was beautiful.” Zuko explains.

“But when we got there, the lamps were off.” Jin continued. “Thankfully, Zuko was a firebender.”

“He lit the lamps?” Katara asks. Jin nods. “ _Aw, Zuko_.”

“He told me to close my eyes and don’t peek.” She rolls her eyes.

“Again. I was undercover.” Zuko defends himself.

“Anyway. That’s where our date ended.” Jin said, shrugging.

“That’s not true.” Zuko says. “I gifted you a coupon.” Jin laughs.

“Oh, right. And then you ran away and never called me back.”

Zuko blushes, looking away. “Yeah, sorry about that.”

“It’s okay. It’s been years, I’m over it.” Jin says. She places her glass on the table. “Well, I had fun, but I have an early meeting tomorrow.” She stands up, bowing to Katara and Aang’s direction. “It was an honor to meet you two, Avatar Aang, Master Katara.”

“Please, no need to be so formal. We’re friends.” Katara says, standing up to hug her.

“Yes! And you’re invited to our wedding, which will be in about a year!” Aang says. On the other side of the room Sokka facepalms, shaking his head.

“It’s an honor. Thank you.”

Zuko stands up, taking Jin’s wrist. “Hold on. I’ll walk you back.”

He turns to face Katara and Aang, hugging them both. “Come back soon. I have a lot of businesses to talk about with the Avatar.”

Aang groans. “Of course. You know I love paperwork!” Zuko clasps his shoulder, shaking his head.

Then, he turns to Sokka, and hugs him too. “It’s been great having you here, Sokka.”

“It’s been great to be had.” He jokes. Zuko sighs.

“I’m going to miss you.”

“You could always come to the Southern Water Tribe.”

“I can… organize that. Maybe. In a few months.” Sokka scoffs.

“Okay, yeah. _I’ll_ be back.”

Zuko blushes, hugging him again. “Okay. Then I’ll be waiting.”

Jin and him wave goodbye the others, leaving the room and walking down the hall to Jin’s room. When they get to the door, Jin turns to look at him.

“You didn’t tell them about the kiss.” She says.

“You didn’t either. I figured there must be a reason. I respect you. And your decisions” he shrugs.

She smiles, looking down at her feet. She puts a lock of her hair behind her ear. “That’s… great. That’s good to hear.”

Zuko nods. “Good. Yes. Great.”

Jin looks up at him, smiling. She places a hand on his cheek. She stands on her toes, closing the distance between them and placing a kiss on his lips. Zuko kisses her back, his hands on her waist. When they break apart, he smiles at her.

“Have a good night.” She whispers.

“You, too.” he says.

The girl gets in the room, leaving Zuko in the hall, looking at the closed door.

Turning to his left, he realizes something: Jin will definitely never be Sokka. He will never be abe to kiss her without thinking how much he’d rather be kissing the Water Tribe boy. Her lips will never feel the same way as Sokka’s. And even if he tries, he will never feel the same way about her as he does with Sokka. Because Zuko is in love with him, has been for a long time, probably long before they even hooked up, probably long before he even became Fire Lord.

He makes a decision, or maybe the drinks make it for him, and turns to his right, where the guest rooms are located. When he reaches Sokka’s door, he knocks. He’s not sure if the younger boy is in there, but he needs to try.

A sleepy Sokka opens the door. He’s blushed because of the alcohol, his hair is down, and he’s not wearing anything above his waist. Zuko tries not to focus too much on that last fact.

“Zuko.” Sokka says. “I thought you were… walking Jin back.”

“I did. Walk her back.”

“And you didn’t… you know, stay?” Sokka says. Zuko frowns when he understands what Sokka thought he was supposed to be doing at the moment.

“We need to talk.” Zuko states. Sokka is the one frowning now, moving to his left to let Zuko in.

Once the door is closed, Zuko turns to look at his friend, then grabs him by the arms and pushes him towards his body. In a matter of seconds, their lips are locked together.

It’s merely a second later that Sokka pushes him away. He doesn’t say anything, just looks at him confused.

“What was that?” he asks, when he realizes Zuko isn’t going to say anything, either.

“I’m not good with feelings. You know that. So, uh…” he begins. He shakes head, closing his eyes. “I need to tell you something. Sokka.” He gulps, not sure how to proceed. Sokka is looking at him, expectant, and he feels like he’ll start crying at any minute. “Sokka, I love you. And I have for a long time.”

“What?” he says. Zuko feels tears building up in his eyes, and there’s a knot on his throat. Sokka seems like he’s sobered up in an instant, and Zuko doesn’t know what else to say. His head is a mess, and he doesn’t even know where to start.

“The night we had sex was the best night of my life. I had been crushing on you for so long, and it was finally mutual; and I thought maybe we could give it a shot, but you never brought it up. And then you left, and when you came back, Suki and you were together; and I love you and I want you to be happy, but I can’t pretend it’s not killing me to see you with someone else, because it is. I haven’t felt so miserable in my life, and that’s a lot to say, coming from me.”

Sokka is frowning at the floor. Zuko isn’t sure if its out of confusion or anger, but he just wants him to say something, anything, so he can stop vomiting his feelings all over the room. Sokka finally looks up at him, and his eyes are filled with tears.

“You weren’t there.” Sokka says.

Zuko’s eyes widen in confusion. “What?”

“I woke up the morning after and you weren’t there. You had left. What was I supposed to think after I hook up with my best friend, who I didn’t even know liked men, when we were both drunk, and wake up alone? I thought you were embarrassed! It hurt so bad, Zuko. I thought you never wanted to see me again. I didn’t see you in days, and you were so… weird when I did, what was I supposed to think?”

“I didn’t…” Zuko grabs Sokka’s wrists, tears running down his face. “I had to work. I didn’t leave you willingly, Sokka. Agni, if I could, I would’ve spent the whole day in bed with you. But I’m the leader of my nation. I can’t just take a day off because I’m hungover and high on sex.”

Sokka has damp cheeks now, the tears on his eyes having fallen down while he screamed at him. He thrusts his arms out of Zuko’s hands. “We could’ve just talked. We’re best friends. We’re supposed to do that. Do you know how bad I felt? I thought I was losing you forever, Zuko. I thought I was losing the love of my life.” Zuko’s eyes widen so much he thinks they’re about to pop out of his sockets. “What? You think you’re the only one who has been in love with his best friend for years? I told you, Zuko. Ever since you helped me break my fucking father out of jail, I haven’t been able to look at you any other way.”

“But, I thought… Suki and you…”

“I liked Suki. I like her. I love her. And she loves me. And you were… I didn’t even know if you liked men, I knew it was frowned upon in the Fire Nation. I couldn’t let myself wait for you my whole life, Zuko.” Sokka sighs. “And I can’t let you do the same for me now.”

“What?” Zuko says.

“I’m not going to break up with Suki. She doesn’t deserve that. Spirits, I know well that she deserves better than me, I know I’m lucky she loves me. And I’m not leaving my Chief training behind. I have to go back to my tribe, and learn how to be the leader they need. I can’t just throw my whole life away for…”

“Me.” Zuko finishes for him, looking down.

Sokka shakes his head, hugging him. “No. Not for you. For a teenage dream. I love you, but, who’s to know if we could actually work out? I’m not sure if I want to find out. I’m not sure if I want to lose you.” he sighs. “And you’re the Fire Lord. You need… you have to marry a woman, even if you lifted that stupid, homophobic laws. You know this.”

Zuko nods, his head caught between Sokka’s chin and his chest. They stay like that for a while, Sokka’s hands running up and down his back. They’re both crying, Zuko doesn’t need to look up to know. The hitched breaths he can feel under his cheek are confirmation enough.

After a while, Zuko takes a step back, looking at his friend. His eyes are red and his face is puffy, and Zuko wants to hug him again until he recovers his cheerful smile and he wants to beat himself up for making Sokka cry.

“I should go.” Zuko says. He turns to the door, but Sokka catches his wrist before he can open it.

“If, somehow, someday, we find ourselves available again… Zuko. I would love to take you out on a date.” he says. Zuko knows it’s an empty promise. Sokka and Suki are it for each other. They are meant to be together.

“I would love that.” he says. Sokka raises the hand he has a hold on and kisses his knuckles. Zuko smiles at him. “Have a good trip back home.” he says. Sokka nods.

“Thank you.”

Zuko nods back and leaves the room. When he feels the door close behind him, he sighs. He rubs the tears off his eyes and starts walking.

Before he realizes where his feet are taking him, he’s outside his mother’s villa. There’s still light inside, so he knocks on the door. Ursa opens the door. “Zuko?” she says, surprised. “What’s wrong? It’s late, you should…”

She’s interrupted by her son breaking down crying again and hugging her. The older woman hugs him back. “Zuko…” she says, running her fingers through Zuko’s half undone hair.

“I messed up, mom. I messed it all up.”

“It’s okay, Zuko. It’s okay. I’m here for you.”


	2. How you get the boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this happens a year after Sokka and Zuko break each other's hearts- i only wrote this because i can't make zuko sad. it's physically impossible for me

Zuko sighs, looking at the figure of the South Pole still a few miles away.

He’s been traveling for a week now, but he’ll finally arrive there tonight. He’s not sure if that excites him or scares him.

All his friends are reuniting there for Katara and Aang’s engagement party, which he loves, because he hasn’t seen most of them in almost a year. Except for Toph, who tended to travel back and forth the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation, the last time he saw his friends was the night he spilled his heart to Sokka, and didn’t even went to say good bye, knowing well if he saw Sokka leaving on Appa, he’d start crying in front of everyone, and he wasn’t sure when, or if, he would stop.

But now only a few miles separate them (Zuko is pretty sure he can even spot Sokka’s igloo from where he stands), and Zuko has a knot on his throat the size of an adult turtleduck. He feels a hand on his shoulder and doesn’t need to turn to know it’s Mai. She’s the only one who would ever approach him from his left.

“It will be okay, Zuko.” She whispers. “He’s still the same Sokka he was before all the mess you both managed to make.”

Zuko nods, his hands pressed on the railway of the ship. He keeps staring at the city in front of them. “I just… what am I supposed to say to him?”

Mai shakes her head. “Nothing. Let him approach you. Sokka might be a mess, but I’m pretty sure he can handle all this situation better than you. No offense.”

“None taken. I know how to pick my battles.” Zuko says. He turns at her, surrounding her small frame with his arms. “I haven’t been this nervous in my life, Mai.”

“I know.” she says, her hands traveling up and down his parka. “Don’t worry, everything will be fine. I’m here for you.”

It’s not until a few hours later that they finally go ashore. Katara, Aang and Hakoda are waiting for them by the dock.

“Zuko!” Aang says, running towards him. Zuko smiles at him.

“Aang, it’s been so long!” he says, hugging him. Aang hugs back, patting his friend’s shoulders. Zuko takes a step back, noticing how Aang is taller than him now. He raises his eyebrows. “You’ve… grown up.”

“He doesn’t stop, apparently.” Hakoda says, approaching him. They shake hands, the older man smiling at him. “It’s good to see you again, Fire Lord. You even look like you’ve been sleeping and eating like a normal person.”

Zuko blushes a little, and scoffs. “Yeah. Thank Mai for that.” The girl beside him doesn’t say anything, but smiles.

“It’s good to see you again, Zuko.” Katara says, hugging him. “Your uncle arrived a few days ago with Toph. They’re with Sokka and GranGran now!”

At the mention of Sokka, Zuko chokes. His eyes widen and he shakes his head slightly. “Uh, of course. Uh…”

Mai places a hand on his chest. “We’d like to unpack first, if you don’t mind. Plus, the ship is comfortable, but a week on it isn’t exactly something I’d call pleasant.” She explains. “It’s kind of weird to be on firm land again.”

Katara smiles at her. “Of course. Follow me, I’ll tell you where you can stay.”

The three of them walk through the city, much bigger now than when Zuko first came here, when he was still looking for Aang. There are actual buildings now, bigger than the huts and igloos they lived in before. “I’m still impressed at how much this place has changed.” Zuko says.

Katara turns to look at him. “I know, right? I can’t believe just six years ago we weren’t even a hundred people here… and now… it’s incredible how much the world has accomplished in so little time.” she smiles. “It’s obvious it’s in good hands.” Zuko blushes, looking away. “Anyway, we’re here.” She points towards a house that is slightly bigger than the others. “This is Dad and Bato’s new residence, so we’re all staying here, except Sokka, obviously. He’s got his own igloo now. He thinks he’s so grown up.” she snorts. “Nerd.”

“Aren’t you the one getting married?” Mai asks. Katara turns, smiling triumphantly.

“That isn’t until another year, but yes!” she crosses her arms on her chest. “Come in! You’re going to love the place.”

The house is, on the outside, made of ice, obviously; but it’s not as rustic as Hakoda’s old place was. There’s actual wooden furniture now, even a fireplace similar to the ones they have back in the Fire Nation. There are different rooms, with doors and everything. Zuko doesn’t want to say out loud because it sounds rude, but he’s actually quite impressed.

“Do you want to room with each other? There’s only one bed in each room, and we only have one left, so you can either do that or we can reorganize it, Zuko can sleep with his uncle or Mai, you can sleep with me if you want or Aang and Toph will…”

“We’re fine sleeping together, thank you, Katara.” Mai says. Zuko nods, giving his consent. Katara nods back and guides them to the room, where they leave their bags on the floor, looking around.

There’s only one bed, yes, but it’s big enough that they wouldn’t have to touch if they didn’t want to. Still, Zuko knows Mai is going to end up curled up on his chest, as usual. There’s not much more on the room: a small wardrobe and a tiny nightstand on the left side of the bed with an oil lamp on top of it.

“Good. Then I guess I’ll let you unpack. Everyone’s coming for dinner later, before the party tomorrow, so if you want to clean yourselves up and change clothes…” The waterbender leaves the rest of the sentence in the air, then nods, mostly to herself. “Okay. I’m leaving now. See you guys later!”

She steps out of the room, closing the door behind her. Mai turns to look at him. “If you want to go look for him…” she starts. Zuko shakes his head.

“No. That’s the opposite of what I want.”

“Are you sure seeing him in front of everyone is the right step?” she asks, raising one of her eyebrows.

“I don’t know. I hope so. I just… I can’t do it alone.” Zuko sighs. Mai stares at him.

“Okay then.” She simply says, opening her bag to take new clothes out of it. Zuko doesn’t say anything else, just mimics her.

Iroh and Toph are the firsts to get to the house. Zuko goes straight to hug his uncle, whom he hasn’t seen in at least half a year.

“Uncle.” He says, softly. He feels the older man laugh softly between his arms.

“Fire Lord Zuko. It’s great to see you, nephew.” When they break apart, Iroh turns to look at Mai. “And Mai. You look as beautiful as always.”

Mai greets him with a small bow. “Thank you, Iroh. You don’t look bad yourself.”

“Yes, yes, we all look great.” Toph says. “Can we eat? I’m starving!”

“Toph. Half of us aren’t even here.” Katara says, rolling her eyes at her friend. Toph doesn’t reply, crossing her arms as she plops down on one of the floor cushions and scoffs. Zuko and Mai watch her, amused (or at least Zuko thinks Mai is amused. It’s hard to tell). “I hope you are not too hungry.” She continues, turning to look at Mai and him. “Sokka and my father will not be for awhile. They had a last-minute meeting.” Zuko waves at her.

“It’s okay. We can wait.” He assures her.

“I cannot!” Toph says. Zuko sits down beside her, his uncle sitting on his other side. Mai casually sits in front of them, right beside Katara, who beams at her and starts talking. Zuko stares as Katara chatters away as Mai’s face stays unimpressed and she hums on the right moments.

Hakoda, Sokka and Bato show up almost an hour later with Aang.

“Sorry for the delay!” Hakoda says, the last one to enter the room, closing the door beside him. “But that smells awesome.”

“Iroh made it! It’s a mix of Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom food.” Katara says, walking towards them to hug her fiancé. He kisses her head.

The men take off their covers as Katara asks them about the meeting. Zuko has his eyes fixed on Sokka, who hasn’t acknowledged him yet. He has a small smile on his face, like he’s proud of something. Zuko figures the meeting must have gone well, then. His hair is longer than last time they saw each other, although it’s still on a ponytail, Zuko figures it brushes his shoulders by now. The left side of his face is framed by a small braid with two blue beads, one on the beginning and one on the end of it. He has almost lost all the baby fat on his cheeks and his cheekbones are showing, along with a sharp jaw. He even styles a goatee like his father, now. When he loses his parka, Zuko sees that, under his long-sleeved shirt, he has gained muscle. The Fire Lord takes a sip off the cup of water on his hands.

He looks at Mai, who raises her eyebrows and raises to her feet as Sokka walks towards her.

“Mai!” he exclaims. He puts his arms around her, making her groan. He chuckles in response. “It’s great to see you’re still the same. Please don’t change.” he says. She rolls her eyes as he lets her go. “How’s Ty Lee?”

“She’s good. Sad she couldn’t join, but Kyoshi duties come first.” She shrugs. Sokka nods.

“Of course. Well, tell her I said hi when you see her again.” He winks at her, and turns to look at Zuko.

When their eyes lock together, Zuko gulps, his eyes widening just a fraction. Sokka’s smile gets bigger. “Jerk Lord.” He exhales. Zuko stands up, going to his friend, who places his arms around his shoulders and whispers in his ear. “I’ve missed you so much.”

Zuko promised he wouldn’t cry. He’s 22 years old. He won’t cry.

Slowly, he places his arms around Sokka’s waist. “I missed you too.” he says.

Zuko is pretty sure they’ve been hugging for longer than what’s considered usual, but he can’t get enough of Sokka’s smell, or the warmth he feels on the pit of his stomach when they touch. He can’t get enough of Sokka, and he’s pretty sure he never will.

They hear someone clearing their throat and they break apart. Zuko doesn’t know exactly who did it, but he wants to kill them. Or thank them, since he would have probably embarrassed himself if the hug had lasted five seconds longer.

“Are we going to eat now or not?” Toph says.

Katara groans. “Yes, Toph. Give us five more minutes, please.”

Toph scoffs, unpleased. Aang chuckles, sitting beside her. Zuko is about to go back to his place when Sokka grabs him by the arm. Zuko frowns at him, and the younger man drags him towards another seat, beside Mai, and sits on his other side.

Zuko has never liked being manhandled. But.

Katara, Bato and Iroh bring the food to the table. Hakoda has sat right beside Sokka, and Bato is in front of him. Iroh and Katara sit on their previous places. Zuko looks around.

It’s been long since he has felt this, the feeling of being part of a family, sharing a dinner with them, exchanging stories about their days, weeks, or months. He feels his shoulders relax, and Sokka, on his left, taps on his shoulder so he can look at him.

“Do you want some?” he offers him a plate of sea prunes. Zuko takes some. He’s not fond of them, but he knows better than to say no to something Sokka feels so excited about.

“Thanks.” Zuko says, softly. Sokka winks at him. Then, he starts discussing something with Bato, who raises his eyebrows at him and tells him off for something Zuko doesn’t really understand, since he was paying no attention to the conversation; silently eating his food.

He feels eyes on him and looks up to Aang, right across from him. He’s smiling widely, like he knows something, and Zuko frowns, tilting his head. Aang just chuckles and looks back down to his plate.

The rest of the dinner, Zuko barely talks, other than when prompted. It’s not he’s uncomfortable, not anymore, not with these people, but he’s so tired from the travel he’s about to fall asleep on top of Mai’s shoulder.

Not long after they finish dinner, Hakoda and Bato stand up to tidy up the table and the others stand up to retire to their rooms. Katara and Sokka are saying their good-byes when Mai and him try to go to their room; but they’re interrupted by Sokka whistling at them. They both turn at the same time.

“Zuko.” Sokka says, putting on his parka. “Come with me? I want to show you something.”

He puts on the hood of his parka, and Zuko can’t help but stare and blush. Mai, behind him, kicks his ankle, startling him. “Uhm, yes. Yes, I… just let me get my parka.” Sokka nods, and he disappears behind the room to his door, Mai following right on his tracks.

Zuko took his blue parka from the bed, where he had left it earlier. He turned to look at Mai, who was staring at him with her arms crossed on her chest.

“Are you ready for this? To be alone with him?”

Zuko sighs. “I guess. He’s my best friend, Mai. He was. He is. I don’t know.” he shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. We haven’t talked in a year. We need to… fix everything. Come what may.”

Mai sighs, and walks towards forward and hugging him. She places her head on his chest. “Okay. You’re old enough to figure out what’s good for you and what’s not. Just, don’t come back crying okay? Your tears will freeze.” Zuko chuckles, surrounding her skinny body with his arms.

“I promise I won’t cry.” Mai scoffs.

“Yeah, sure.” She plants a kiss on his cheek and runs her hands up and down his arms. “I’ll be in bed.”

“Don’t wait up late.” He tells her. She shakes her head.

“I don’t think I could if I wanted to. I haven’t slept in the whole time we’ve been in that ship. I hate the ocean.” She rolls her eyes.

Zuko gives her side smile. “You still look beautiful when you hate the world.” Mai _actually_ laughs.

“I still don’t hate you. Now go. Sokka is waiting for you.”

Zuko kisses her forehead before he leaves the room. Sokka is still hovering by the front door, his hood still on his head. Even though all the changes he has gone through since they met six years ago, sometimes Zuko can still see the fifteen-year-old he first met in this exact same town. He loves that, even under all his being an adult and the future leader of his tribe, there’s still a young boy excited to start his life. He wonders if his is there too, and if anyone can actually see him.

“Took you long enough.” Sokka says. “What, were you getting back together or something?”

Zuko raises his eyebrows. “Of couse not. Do you want Ty Lee to kill me on my sleep? Because technically then, Azula would be Fire Lord. I strongly advise against that.”

Sokka laughs, opening the front door. He lets Zuko out first. “Yeah, me either.” He steps out into the cold too, and closes the door behind them. “I heard she came back.” He starts walking, and Zuko follows.

Zuko nods. “She stumbled into palace around four months ago. We took her back to the institution. She’s doing better than the first time, I think. She seems more… receptive. I still don’t know if it’s true, or just playing with my mind again.” Sokka doesn’t answer, not verbally at least. He lets out a ‘hump’. “Mai is really against the idea of her coming back to our lives. She still hasn’t forgiven what happened with the kids. You know, her brother, her father… ¡”

“I get it. What does Iroh think?” Sokka ask.

“He thinks as long as it’s my decision, it’s the right one. He trusts me, I guess.” Zuko shrugs.

“He may be right on that. Trusting you, I mean.”

“Yeah… I don’t know about that.” Zuko shakes his head. “Anyway.” Sokka gets him immediately, and he changes the subject.

“What about your other sister?”

“Kiyi? Oh, she’s doing great. Mother decided to send her to a school instead of having a governess, like I suggested. Apparently, she loves school.”

Sokka’s eyes widen in surprise. “She does? Wow. That’s… unusual.”

“She came to me the other day, told me they had been talking about the One Hundred Year War. She told everyone in her class that she knew all of us, and apparently, now she’s the most popular kid in school.”

The younger man laughs. “That kid. She’s going to be something else when she grows up.”

Zuko smiles. “Yeah… Yeah. I guess she will.”

Sokka smiles back at him, and they keep walking. Sokka tells him about the future projects for the South Pole, how they’re going to try and keep growing now that the men have come back from war and they have reconnected with their sister tribe, plus all the positive reinforcement from the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation. Zuko listens to him, marveled, his eyes fixated on everything at once: Sokka’s hands as he explains everything; his lips moving to pronounce every word with the Southern Pole accent he has gained back after a year of not traveling around the world, choosing to stay home; the way his eyes shine with pride as he talks about his beloved tribe. Zuko can’t help but smile at it all.

Sokka stops talking when they walk out of the walls of the city, making Zuko frown. They keep walking for a while, though, until Sokka halts to a stop somewhere near the coast and turns to look at him.

“So, this is it.” he says. Then, he plops down on the snow. Zuko does the same, sitting beside his friend.

He waits for the Water Tribe man to start talking, but he doesn’t for a while. Instead, he’s looking up at the sky, leaning back, all his weight on his hands behind him.

It’s polar night this time of year, so everything is covered with the blue twilight. The moon hangs in the sky, white and shiny as ever. Zuko knows he’s looking at her. He keeps his silence, sitting right beside him, hugging his knees; not wanting to disturb Sokka from this moment.

“You know we met right here, all those years ago?” Sokka finally says. Zuko’s head snaps to look at him. He’s looking at the horizon now. “When you kicked me in the face.”

“And you threw your boomerang at my head.” He replies. Sokka chuckles.

“Yeah. We’ve come so far, haven’t we? Now you’re the Fire Lord, and I’m the future Chieftain. And we’re…” he lets the sentence hanging. Zuko thinks it’s very fitting. He licks his lips, the nods.

“It’s been a long time. We’re not the same people. I wouldn’t kick your face now.” Sokka looks at him, smiling.

“Thanks, jerk. That’s very touching.” He says, raising a hand and shoving his shoulder. Zuko chuckles. “Well. I think there’s no use for stalling anymore. So I’m just going to ask. Suki told you, didn’t she?”

Zuko nods. “Yes. Pretty much as soon as it happened.” He says. “I told her, too, by the way. Seemed fair.”

Sokka nods. “Katara and Aang know too. They asked me why I was so grumpy when we left Caldera and I… let’s say it wasn’t my manliest moment.” Zuko rolls his eyes. “And I’m pretty sure Toph knows, since she can feel how fast my heart beats when you’re near me.”

Zuko is really, really cold, and he doubts the blood in his face is actually there, but he blushes anyway.

“I think my uncle knows too. He always knows everything. And if he knows, my mother knows for sure. They like gossip.” He finally says. “And Mai knows, of course, because she’s my confidant.”

“So Ty Lee knows.”

“Probably.”

“I’m pretty sure my dad and Bato know too. Look, I’m not the most discreet person.” Zuko laughs, looking down at his feet. He’s pretty sure he’s going to lose one of his toes. “So does everybody know?”

“I think… I think so, yeah.” Zuko shrugs.

“Does… Jin know?” Sokka asks. He’s raising an eyebrow. Zuko rolls his eyes.

“Sokka. Jin and I… it’s not like that.” he sighs. “I mean, it could have; I intended it to; but the moment you left I told her it was not what I wanted. She was understanding, and told me she had figured some of it by herself. She’s still at the palace and we’re friends, but… it’s not like that. My heart was never on it.”

Sokka smiles a little, but he tries to hide it. Zuko pretends he hasn’t seen it.

“Okay. Then if everyone knows, we don’t have to… we don’t have to break the news to anyone. It’s easier.”

Zuko frowns. “So you actually… want to do it? What about you becoming Chieftain?”

Sokka shrugs. “I’m 21. I have finished my training. My dad isn’t retiring anytime soon. I’ve already talked to him and he’s okay with me going to Caldera as ambassador. He thinks the South needs more representation there, which I agree.”

“Of course.” Zuko smiles softly.

“So yeah. I think… we could give a try, if you wanted to.” He gives Zuko a side smile, and the older man nods.

“Yes. Yes, I want to.” Sokka lets out a little laugh.

“Great. Okay. Now I really want to kiss you.”

“Okay.” Zuko simply says, leaning in.

Sokka leans in the rest of the way, their lips pressing together in a soft kiss, even though their lips are chapped by the cold. The warmth in Zuko’s pit turns into a whole fire, and he felts like the ice around him is melting. Sokka’s hand travels up his arm to his neck, the soft fabric of the gloves he’s wearing leaving his skin tingling.

When they break apart, Sokka’s eyes stay closed for a fraction of a second more, and then he opens them with a big smile. Zuko feels like he could stare at him for forever.

“I promised you a date.” Sokka whispers. “So, will you be my date for my sister’s prissy engagement party?”

Zuko punches his shoulder. “It’s not prissy. It’s so great that they’re excited about getting married.”

“Yeah? Wait until you and I get married, big guy.” Sokka says, winking at him. “That’s going to be better than great. It’s going to be great-est.” he says, dividing the last word in two. Zuko rolls his eyes.

“You’re a menace. But yes. I will be your date for your sister’s awesome engagement party.”

Sokka laughs, leaning in to kiss Zuko’s lips again.

Zuko _knows_ he will never get tired of this.

Zuko is sitting alone in one of the tables, looking at Ty Lee and Mai on the dance floor with a smile, when he feels a body drop on the chair beside him. He looks at the Water Tribe boy, who is wearing his formal blue outfit, a glass of wine on each hand.

“This is for me.” He says, lifting his right hand. “And this is for you.” he offers him the one on his left. Zuko smiles at him, taking the drink.

“Thanks.” he takes a sip, then looks back at the dance floor. “I can’t believe they’re actually married.”

“Yeah. I knew they were going to be the first ones, but I didn’t imagine it would be so soon. Fuck, it’s my little sister we’re talking about.”

Aang and Katara are in the middle of the dance floor, dancing together, both wearing their traditional nation’s clothes. They’re surrounded with people, but they only look at each other. Zuko smiles, looking at his friend’s happiness, feeling blessed to be able to be part of it.

“Speaking of. Have you finally managed to escape Kiyi?” he asks. Sokka laughs.

“I didn’t know a kid could have so much energy. I’m too old for this crap, Zuko. I can’t have a little girl crushing on me.”

“It’ll pass. She has a new crush every week. Ikem is really worried about it.”

“She’s just a kid. I used to have crushes on all the girls my age on my tribe, too. Katara said it was because I was a sexist pig. I think I was just a horny teenager.”

Zuko laughs. They fall into a comfortable silence, and then Zuko speaks again. “Aang seems so happy. I’m glad.”

“So does Katara. I think they’re really drunk.”

“I know she’s your little sister, but I just want you to know, I think your first niece or nephew is on the way to be conceived tonight.”

Sokka makes a choking noise, and then a disgusted face, making Zuko laugh. “That’s disgusting. Please don’t make me think of my little sister having sex again, in our lives.”

“I’m sorry. I won’t, I swear.”

“Swear it on your honor.” Sokka demands. Zuko rolls his eyes.

“Sokka, I think you’re over exaggerating.”

“Do it.” the older sighs.

“Fine. I swear it on my honor.” The younger man smiles, placing his hand on his shoulder.

“Good. How long until it’s not unpolite to leave?” he asks. Zuko smiles.

“Half an hour, give or take.” Sokka groans on his shoulder.

“And you’re sure we can’t just… slip out to my igloo and come back here? I can be very quick, I swear.” Zuko chuckles.

“Orgasm is not a goal, Sokka. It’s a journey.” He winks at the younger man.

“Just wait half an hour. I’ll wipe that stupid smile off your face so quick, you won’t even have time to say ‘Fire Nation’.”

“I’d love to see you try.”

“Oh, you’re on.” They stare at each other, and then Zuko smiles and leans forward, capturing Sokka’s lips on his. They kiss for a while, breaking apart when someone clears their throat beside them.

“I’m blind, but even I can see how horny you two are. Suki sent me here to tell you two, quote: ‘Tell my stupid ex-boyfriend to stop making out with the Fire Lord in front of everybody and get a room before they melt the entirety of the South Pole.’ The other girls agree too.”

Sokka raises an eyebrow at Toph. “Well, we were trying to be polite, but fine. If you all want us gone, we’ll be gone.”

“Don’t worry, Katara won’t notice. She’s too in love to look away from Aang’s face. She didn’t even notice your father and Bato left an hour ago.”

“Wait, what?” Sokka exclaims. “Oh no, more images. No, no, I have to get out of here.” Sokka turns to look at Zuko, still sitting in the chair with his blue parka zipped all the way up. “We’re out of here. I need you to fuck those images out of me.”

Zuko blushes, smiling softly. “Gladly.” He says. Standing up and taking Sokka’s hand.

They step out of the ice building where the celebrations are being held, hand in hand. Right outside the venue, Sokka stops to look up at the full moon. Zuko places his hand on his shoulder.

“Sometimes I think she really looks out for me.” He says. Zuko hums. Sokka shakes his head.

“Do you think we’d be here if she had stayed?” Zuko asks. Sokka looks down at him.

“Yes. We would. You’re my person, Zuko. There’s no one else. I’m sorry it took us so long to figure it out.”

Zuko shakes his head. “Don’t think about that. We’re together now, that’s what matters.” 

Sokka smiles, and leans down to kiss him, Yue in the sky, looking down on them, basking them with her light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's enough to make an adult cry (i'm the adult)

**Author's Note:**

> i finished editing this at 1.15am. If something doesn't make sense, I am genuinely sorry.  
> this wasn't supposed to have a happy ending, either. But I'm physically unable of making Zuko sad.
> 
> also, my bestie irene made a fanart for the sokka braiding zuko’s hair scene. You can check it out [here](https://twitter.com/glittersokka/status/1334930510624268293?s=20)!
> 
> come talk to me about avatar stuff on [twitter](https://twitter.com/g0ldenzuko)


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